Some Resources for Congenital Cataracts, infant contacts, glasses, and patching!

I've been getting requests for ways to "plug in" to other people going through the same thing.  I remember scouring the internet for any snippet of information I could find, so here is a compilation of things that helped me through!

Parent Blogs:  

In general, these tell about family life surrounding having a child with cataracts.  Many talk about day to day struggles with patching, contacts, glasses, and also about family fun!  These blogs help me survive the ups and downs of what we go through.

Here are the ones I follow regularly (forgive me if I missed any, I'm sure there are more!)

A boy. His brother. The mischief they find. http://thegloverfamilyblog.blogspot.com/

Epis, Patches, Inhalers... Oh My! http://3kids1wish.blogspot.com/

An Ounce of Luck and a Pound of Faith http://ounceofluck.blogspot.com/

Vision is a Gift http://visionisagift.blogspot.com/

See the Distance http://seethedistance.blogspot.com/

 Patches, camo and other random thoughts  http://patchesandcamo.blogspot.com/

There are many more beautifully written blogs out there by moms who have children going through similar issues.  I omitted a few who have either not blogged recently, or those who have changed the focus of their blog away from congential cataracts (etc) and more towards family life or interests.  You can find a few more in my profile and I do urge you to check them out!

Websites:

Little Four Eyes:  This covers issues with any kid in glasses. http://littlefoureyes.com/

  *They have a great post about other blogs:  http://littlefoureyes.com/2012/01/16/new-page-blogs-about-childrens-vision/

  *They also have a Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/littlefoureyes/

Child Cataract Network (UK site) http://www.childhoodcataracts.org.uk/index.html

Bausch & Lomb:  I included this, because if you have Silsoft lenses, you will contact them at some point!  http://www.bausch.com/en/Our-Products/Contact-Lenses

Boston Children's Hospital:  Not where we go, but they have a GREAT video on how to put in contacts... I watched this a million times when we first started!  http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site666/mainpageS666P1.html

Simulation of vision:  Really cool site.  http://www.billauer.co.il/simulator.html

Facebook Pages:  

Closed groups: You need to request access, which is easily granted, but this makes it a little more private.

People with Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous (PHPV) Unite! https://www.facebook.com/groups/58073768937/

Aphakic kids:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/139232330344/

Aphakia Group:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aphakia-group/121745891227537

Fun Sites (Mostly promotional):

Peeps Eyewear: https://www.facebook.com/peepseyewear?fref=ts

Eye Power Kids Wear:  https://www.facebook.com/eyepowerkidswear?hc_location=stream
  *They also have a non-facebook website:  http://eyepowerkidswear.com/

Little Four Eyes Marketplace https://www.facebook.com/groups/359677530776131/?fref=ts

Instagram:

Check out #Camopatch kids!  Many parents (and some siblings!) will post pictures of their kiddos in patches on Sunday.  Camo patch if you have any!

Patches:

See earlier post:  Fun Eye Patches

Support Groups:

 Yahoo Aphakic Support Group.  You'll need to request access, but this is a great resource.  You can post questions, answer questions, or simply read about what others are going through.

Little Tommy (just because I can't post without at least one picture!)