Helping Natalie see
儿童视力护理小组治疗青少年白内障、青光眼
BY CHARLES McCHESNEY
Natalie Baumgartner’s mother, Ryan Earl, 记得女儿对着一本色彩鲜艳的书微笑的那一天. “I remember just being overjoyed.直到那一刻，她才知道女儿是否能看见东西.
Preethi Ganapathy, MD, PhD娜塔莉出生时患有白内障，眼睛很小. 此外，她有腭裂，影响了她的上颚. “Her eyes were very cloudy,” said Earl. On the second morning of her life, doctors at the hospital where she was born tested her, 他们也看不见她眼睛后面的倒影.
The conditions required near-immediate intervention, and so, a few days after birth, Natalie met Upstate’s Stephen Merriam, MD, 谁会在她6周大的时候给她做眼睛手术，又是谁, six years later, continues to care for her vision.
Merriam was a familiar name to Natalie’s family. 厄尔出生时，两只眼睛都患有白内障，其中一只眼睛很小. 她由医学博士沃尔特·梅里亚姆照顾和手术，他是斯蒂芬·梅里亚姆的父亲. Both men are part of the Upstate Center for Vision Care.
Before her first birthday, Natalie’s cleft palate was operated on by Sherard Tatum, MD, at the Upstate Cleft and Craniofacial Center, down the hall from the Upstate Center for Vision Care.
Robert Fechtner, MDNatalie also developed glaucoma, 眼内压力过大，对视神经造成永久性损害, and has been seen regularly by Stephen Merriam, as well as Upstate ophthalmologists Preethi Ganapathy, MD, PhD, and Robert Fechtner, MD, chair of ophthalmology and visual sciences.
“娜塔莉从一开始就得到了如此熟练和持续的儿科护理，这真是太棒了. With pediatric cataracts and pediatric glaucoma, 时间是决定眼睛状况的最重要因素之一,” said Ganapathy. “The earlier we catch glaucoma, the earlier we can treat it, 这意味着孩子有更好的机会保持有意义的长期视力.”
上州视力保健中心(Center for Vision Care at Upstate)组建了一个眼科医生团队，负责治疗最复杂的儿科眼科问题. 该中心的专家团队合作，提供最先进的医疗和手术解决方案，以前只有在大城市才能获得. “For Natalie, experts in pediatric cataracts, 青光眼和腭裂让她有机会克服这些挑战，拥有一个丰富而充实的童年,” said Fechtner.
Stephen Merriam, MD在娜塔莉出生后的几个月里，她不知道自己是否能看到东西. “她经常闭着眼睛，”厄尔回忆说，她对父母的笑脸没有任何反应. During one visit, Earl remembers Natalie’s father, Patrick Baumgartner, asking Stephen Merriam, “Just tell me she’ll see – she’ll see something.”
Stephen Merriam could make no promises. 她的眼睛很小，可能比人们想象的要小40%. It wasn’t certain. 厄尔说:“我们一直在努力为一个失明的孩子做好准备。.
Much of Natalie’s earliest days are a fog to her mother. Still, “everything was so quick.她一直在努力照顾娜塔莉的眼睛. 她和帕特里克必须合作，把隐形眼镜放进娜塔莉的眼睛里. The task had to be performed every eight days, 因为透气性镜片必须定期更换. 娜塔莉的反应和任何婴儿一样，大声而激烈. 父母中的一方必须紧紧抱着娜塔莉，而另一方则要换掉隐形眼镜. “我们不知所措，”她谈到自己和帕特里克时说，“我们会互相拥抱.”
Walter Merriam, MDThen, around the time she was 5 months old, 娜塔莉似乎和她的母亲进行了眼神交流. 后来，当这本彩色的书放在她面前时，她的反应就来了.
“她是最可爱的孩子，”斯蒂芬·梅里亚姆这样评价娜塔莉. “She has done well with what she has.他解释说，娜塔莉被认为是“低视力”，在法律上被登记为盲人. 她持续的眼压问题需要多次手术, and he says Natalie will be a “lifelong eye patient.她每年还会去上州唇腭裂和颅骨中心.
今年4月，纳塔利右眼的视网膜因青光眼脱落，视力受到了影响. Surgery to reattach the retina was not successful. “Ultimately, Natalie only sees out of her left eye now, which appears healthy, and she is still monitored by all the same doctors,” Earl said. “她不断适应并茁壮成长，尽管面临任何挑战，她总是让我们感到惊讶!”
娜塔莉现在是卡斯特兰比弗河中心学校的一名学生, about an hour and a half northeast of Syracuse. “She’s very smart,” her mother said. 她回忆说，娜塔莉10个月大的时候会说话，15、16个月大的时候会走路.
Sherard Tatum, MD她在8个月大的时候就开始戴眼镜了, 让她的父母不用一直换隐形眼镜——娜塔莉的视力足够好，可以看电影了, though she has to be very close to the TV, and enjoys YouTube videos, such as “Ryan’s World.三年前，她迎来了一个小弟弟达蒙·鲍姆加特纳(Damon Baumgartner).
“She loves to be challenged,” her mother said. She is careful in getting around. 由于视力有限，她很难感知高度的变化，但她喜欢骑三轮车和在学校爬猴架. “She’s sassy,” her mother declared with a laugh. “She has come so far.”
“帕特里克和我非常感谢娜塔莉的所有医生以及他们多年来为她所做的一切,” Earl said. “娜塔莉所有的持续成功都是他们为她提供照顾的直接结果
we couldn’t be more thankful!”
Natalie’s mother feeds her after the operation. (provided photo)“上州视力保健中心是为我们的社区服务的. In addition to our full-time faculty, 幸运的是，我们的社区有顶尖的眼科医生自愿花时间为儿童和成人提供几乎所有眼科问题的专家护理,” said Fechtner. “In addition to the clinical expertise, 我们有一个国际公认的科学家团队 Center for Vision Research studying the basic mechanisms of vision and the eye. 他们的前沿研究正在产生可能, someday, prevent blindness and restore vision.”
The Center for Vision Care, celebrating its 25th year of service, provides a wide variety of eye-care services, 从全面的眼科检查到复杂的眼科显微手术.
本文发表于《推荐最近最火的赌博软件》杂志2023年春季号.
