Kennedy

Kennedy was a beautiful, rambunctious, loving toddler — and one who seemed normal in every way. So, when relatives mentioned to her parents that one of Kennedy’s eyes seemed crossed, they didn’t think much of it.

But those comments began to bother them. When Kennedy’s mom, Terry, took her daughter to her next checkup, she casually mentioned something to the doctor. After a close exam, three-year-old Kennedy was referred to the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center.

Pediatric ophthalmologist Dr. Erika Levin discovered that her young patient’s vision tested at 3/300. Kennedy had to stand three feet from an eye chart to see what others could see at a distance of 300 feet.

“When they showed me how little Kennedy could actually see, I broke down in tears,” said Terry. “She could hardly see even the big ‘E’ on the eye chart.”

Dr. Levin explains that Kennedy’s eyes were not properly aligned, a condition known as strabismus. After testing Kennedy’s vision, Dr. Levin also discovered that one eye was much more farsighted than the other. In this situation, a child’s brain will compensate by "turning off" the image from the crossed or more farsighted eye. As a result, Kennedy’s vision in the weaker eye failed to develop.

For the next 2 ½ years, Kennedy wore glasses full time and patched her stronger eye part-time, forcing her weaker eye back into action. In the early stages, she had to wear her eye patch 8 to 10 hours a day. Kennedy’s perseverance paid off and now her vision, with glasses, is 20/25.

Dr. Levin explains, “In early childhood, the brain is still flexible, making it possible to retrain the eye that is not developing properly. Children diagnosed and treated before age 7 typically have the best results. However, a lot of the credit for the success in this case goes to Kennedy and her parents, because it is hard to keep the patch on a small child.”

Kellogg pediatric eye specialists treat hundreds of children like Kennedy each year, taking care of vision problems ranging from strabismus to less common conditions such as cataract and glaucoma. It’s part of what makes Kellogg one of the nation’s best eye centers — for both children and adults.

Today Kennedy has only good things to say about her experience, “The doctors are really nice. The eye patch is good…it looks nice.”

And her advice for any other kids who find themselves in a similar situation? “Wear your patch…it’ll make your eyes get better."