There Are None So Blind As Those Who Cannot See!

I detailed in an earlier post the problems we had encountered with regard to the medical world's insistence that children with cerebral palsy MUST be blind and deaf. I knew that they were wrong and it was clear to anybody who knew Hari that she could both see and hear. The hearing test arranged when she was a baby was disastrous and had resulted in her being overdosed with the sedative used for the test.

David Baum accepted our reluctance to try and repeat the test and did not disagree with my view that Hari could hear. He was keen that she should have her sight tested and referred her to the eye hospital for this.

We dutifully attended the appointment and were told that Hari would have drops put into her eyes to allow the consultant to examine them. Whilst we sat waiting for the drops to be administered who should walk through the waiting room but Mrs. Lily. Now then, we had encountered the said Mrs. Lily in the past as another of my children has a sight problem. I'm not really sure what her official title is but she is some kind of lesser god in the ophthalmic world and conducts sight tests for children.

Mrs. Lily spotted us and wanted to know why we were there - once that was explained she insisted on conducting sight tests on Hari before the drops were administered. She took us to another room and the test proceeded.

When these tests had been conducted with another of my children they had involved bright colours and pictures to attract and keep their attention. For Hari, however, Mrs. Lily used only black and white lines - tests for babies - as Hari could not physically operate the tools for the other tests.

The problem with this was that Hari was NOT a baby and was understandably bored to tears by these lines. Mrs. Lily refused to listen to the fact that Hari would react differently with more age appropriate images - she decreed that Hari could see nothing (because she wouldn't look at the boring black lines ) and hustled us back to the waiting room.

I KNEW that she was wrong!

Eventually the drops were administered and after giving them time to work the consultant examined Hari's eyes. His definitive diagnosis was : 'well she might need glasses for driving when she's older but apart from that her sight is fine'. This sort of put the mockers on Mrs. Lily's stance!!!!!!!!!!!!!

David Baum was very excited about this result and seemed puzzled that I wasn't turning cartwheels - but that was because I had always known that Hari could see and so hadn't discovered anything I didn't already know!