Meet Lizzy!
Prevent Blindness Wisconsin is excited to introduce our 2018 Preschool Ambassador, Lizzy. Lizzy’s mom Laura describes her daughter as “full of life”. Thanks to a Prevent Blindness Wisconsin vision screening, Lizzy is now seeing life more clearly!
Lizzy is an energetic, smart, and vocal 4-year-old who loves playing dress up, riding horses, and playing with her younger sister as well as the family dog. Her favorite place to visit is Disney World and she is currently learning to play the violin. Lizzy was so active and engaged in her activities that her parents had no reason to suspect she was having trouble seeing the world around her.
In March 2018, volunteer vision screeners from Prevent Blindness Wisconsin provided a free vision screening at Lizzy’s 4K program in Whitefish Bay. Lizzy’s parents were surprised to learn that their daughter did not pass her vision screening, saying, “Lizzy never showed signs of a vision problem and never mentioned anything, so when we got the brochure from Lizzy’s teacher saying that she did not pass the screening, we thought that there must have been a mistake.”
Nevertheless, Lizzy’s mom promptly took her to an eye doctor for a complete eye exam. At her appointment, Lizzy was diagnosed with astigmatism and hyperopia (farsightedness) in both eyes as well as amblyopia (lazy eye) in her right eye.
Lizzy’s diagnosis came as a shock to her parents, as both her mom and dad have 20/20 vision and Lizzy has no family history of vision problems. Lizzy had even passed a vision screening as a three-year-old, meaning her vision problems developed rapidly in just one year—lending credence to the phrase, “screen early, screen often!”
To address Lizzy’s vision problems, her eye doctor prescribed glasses with the possibility of a patching regimen to treat her amblyopia in the future. So far, Lizzy is doing great wearing her new glasses. Says Laura, “Lizzy has enjoyed noticing which of her friends and extended family members wear glasses and she recognizes that her glasses help her see better, so she doesn’t take them off!” Now that she can see the strings clearly, Lizzy’s violin skills have improved. Her glasses have also made a big impact on the tennis court, where she can see and hit tennis balls much better.
Without early detection from Prevent Blindness Wisconsin volunteers, Lizzy’s vision problems may have gone undetected, untreated, and could have resulted in permanent vision loss. Lizzy’s parents are thankful for the work done by Prevent Blindness Wisconsin, saying “We are incredibly grateful to Prevent Blindness Wisconsin for catching this and would 100% recommend a children’s vision screening to friends and family with children. We are so thankful that Prevent Blindness Wisconsin came to Lizzy’s school!”