My "Fair" CareBear

Recent Videos

2009-08-13T20:13:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to get Carrah associated with words and "Ball" is one of them. She is learning it fairly well.

As i've previously mentioned, she has taken up walking as a new favorite past time. She is very brave and is taking more and more steps each day.

She has also been very interested in little games. The first one being her paci in a plastic cup. She would put it in, scream at it because it wouldn't come out, then put it right back in after she finally got it out.
The second one being this ball in this little box. lol! It cracks me up to just sit and watch her.

First ER Visit

2009-08-11T07:41:00.004-05:00

Carrah had an accident last weekend. My husband was watching her and my older daughter while he was folding laundry. He wasn't looking for a split second and Carrah had pulled an armoir down on top of her! I heard the thud and went running upstairs to find my child with a bloody face. It was the scariest moment of my life! We rushed her to the ER and they put 3 stitches in her tiny little nose then did a CT scan, which came back normal other than a small break in her nose.

She was her normal self when we returned home, just a little tired. Now a week and a half later, she is perfect! I'm so very thankful that God was watching over her.

Here are a few pictures of the days following the incident..

Her favorite spot to play :)

She got a big goose egg right on the front of her forehead.

She got big sister's carseat too!

Carrah is WALKing!

2009-08-10T21:12:00.003-05:00

I cannot even believe i'm saying that my baby girl is walking. It seems like she was just coming into this world. It's amazing how quickly time flies.

Sometimes I feel as though I lost time just enjoying her because I was trying to figure out what was "wrong" with her for so long. Now that we know she has Albinism, I can relax and spend time with her.

She started taking steps a few weeks ago, but now is letting go of things and taking off quite often. Sheis becoming more and more brave with each day.

It's so awesome to watch her take her first steps and get what she is going after. The Opthamologist told me when she was first diagnosed, that she may not even be able to walk down a hall without help. Praise God she is proving that Dr wrong!! :)

Walking and Rollin' Em Up

2009-07-27T08:47:00.002-05:00

Carrah turned 9 months old almost a week ago and she is taking steps all over the place! It's really cute to watch. She sort of takes off then falls into your arms. I think the glasses have helped her balance whlie standing because since she has gotten them, she has really taken off.

Also, she loves to watch and hear us do "Patty Cake" She is just like her big sis in the sense that she is doing the "Roll Em Up" part first before clapping. She gets so excited and spins her arms 'round and 'round.

Last week, she shocked me big time. She was sat on the floor in front of the TV and was lunging at the VCR (yes we're old school and still have a VCR downstairs) I thought she was just playing, but she finally got close enough to touch it. She pushed the movie in and looked up at the TV waiting for it to come on. lol! She hasn't ever shown much interest in movies when Cami is watching them, but all of the sudden she is into Barney. She will sit there and bop up and down and just laugh so hard.

Carrah's Cutie Glasses

2009-07-26T09:59:00.003-05:00

I have the hardest time remembering to update this blog, but I will from now on because my other blog has gone private..for personal reasons.

Carrah did receive her glasss about a week ago and she is absoloutley precious in them! She has kept them on very well to be only 9 months old. I think there is a significant difference in her sight, so she is loving them. I can tell that she is noticing things in a whole new light. It's awesome to see as a mom.

Carrah Is Going to Get Glasses :)

2009-07-13T17:21:00.002-05:00

So we just got back from Children's. CareBear had a follow up appt. I mentioned her Strabismus and they agreed that it is there and is affecting her vision. They prescribed her glasses that we have to take her and get fitted for. She will wear those for approximately 2 months and see if they are doing anything for her strabismus and if they aren't, then we will discuss surgery.

She was so good! I was extremely proud of her. We were there for two hours. They had to dilate her eyes and check them and she was awesome the entire time! She liked them checking her eyes. I guess she could see better with them putting the focals? up to her eyes because she just sat there so still, but when he took it away she was all squirmy. lol!

Her vision was +3.25 in the left eye and +3.50 in the right. My mom looked it up and it says that 3.00-6.00 is moderate, so she is at the low end of moderate. Praise God!! :)

I can't wait to see her adorable little face in glasses. She will make them look good! She hates her sunglasses unless we are out in the sun, so i'm anxious to see how she takes to glasses. Hopefully she will realize they are helping her see better and leave them on.

PO Appt Today

2009-07-13T08:43:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since my last post and I feel like I have a lot to share, but most importantly is Carrah's Pediatric Opthamology appt today. It's her second visit. They wanted us to come back for a second look at her eyes and to see if they can tell anything about her vision at this point.

She has developed strabismus(like I earlier mentioned) so they will be taking a look at that as well to see what measures they may be able to take.

Carrah is doing very well! She is 8 months old and is already walking..taking steps here and there. She can also see much better than I thought she would be able to. So i'm excited to see what the PO says. I'll update.

Her Little Eye

2009-06-15T08:52:00.002-05:00

Carrah's strabismus is just getting worse. Both eyes turn in a bit every now and then and the one on the right is severe. It just breaks my heart. I don't know why i'm so sensitive about it, but I really am.

I was in Wal Mart Saturday night and the checkout lady started laughing and said "Oh how funny, she looked up at me and her eyes went crossed." My face got blood red and my eyes welled up with tears, but I didn't say anything. I just wasn't prepared at that moment.

We got in the car and I just burst into tears. My husband kept saying "don't let it get to you like that. she didn't know etc.." But still, just the point that people would make fun of a child.. be it that they had a disability or not! It isn't funny to make fun of anyone..especially my child who cannot help it!

I'm sure it is silly for me to overreact so much, but I just wish people were cautious about what they say. No that lady didn't know anything about Carrah, but that doesn't give her the right to say something like that.. in my opinion. I don't want people to feel sorry for her because she is a normal child, but then again I don't want her getting made fun of, poked fun at either.

"To Advanced" for Early Intervention

2009-06-09T13:57:00.002-05:00

I took Carrah for her first EI Therapy today. We met with the OT and she went over all of the paperwork with me. Then she went to evaluate Carrah and was amazed.

This is how out meeting went.

Can she...

Gross Motor:
Sit-Check!
Crawl - Check!
Stand and cruise?? - Check!

Fine Motor:
Pick up objects - Check!
Transfer objects between hands - Check!
Pull open drawers - Check!

"Hmm..I just don't know what I could work with her on right now. She is more advanced than most of the kids that come in here. I think she is to advanced for the program at this time. However, if you see a problem arise in the future, give us a call and we'll get her right in."

So, I felt extremely blessed that she is "to advanced" for therapy right now. It's really amazing to think that this little girl who has a "disability" is doing more things at her age than some "normal kids" I'm thankful to the lady for offering us her help in the future may we need it.

Developing Strabismus

2009-05-26T08:52:00.003-05:00

Over the passed few weeks i've noticed that Carrah's right eye is developing Strabismus{crossed or lazy eyes}. Chris says it is just a lazy eye, but it's extremely crossed when she is trying to focus.

It is breaking my heart. That sounds so shallow, but I don't want her to have to endure any more taunting and cruel looks than she has to already. The initial diagnosis of Albinism was hard enough because I know how hateful little kids can be, but I have since accepted it. I'm so thankful for her and I think she is gorgeous with out without Albinism!! Of course, I will also think she is beautiful with or without Strabismus, but I want everyone else to be able to see passed it as well.

I'm calling the Ped Opthamologist at Children's today to see if they can make her an earlier appt. She is scheduled to go back in June or July{can't remember, they will send me an appt sheet} I'm not sure what doctors do about it, but I think I have read somewhere they can try a patch over the good eye to make the bad eye work harder or something. Or they may give her glasses..or perhaps even surgery. {Please if you are reading this, pray that is not the case} I do not want my baby girl going through surgery!!

Developmental Milestones

2009-05-24T10:31:00.016-05:00

When Carrah was diagnosed, I was terrified that she would not be able to live a normal life. I had no clue what Albinism was or what it entailed for her future. So many thoughts and visions ran through my mind. Would she be able to see to take a bite, crawl without bumping into things, walk down a hall, and so many more..?

My answer is yes! She has done several of those things and earlier than expected at that. Her pediatrician is amazed at what she has done so far. "Very advanced" is what she said.
*Wow* I thought. This little girl that the Opthamologist told me "probably will be able to find her own room" is seeing her favorite toys halfway across the room and pulling up and walking on her own. She can even spot her paci in a pile full of toys!

I'm so proud of what she has accomplished so soon and can't wait to find out what else she is capable of doing!

Crawling on April 1st @ 5mos old

Playing with her big sister on Apr 1st

Eating baby food on April 8th

Crawling again on April 15th {still 5mos}

Crusing on April 27th{6mos}

Just starting to walk in the walker May 5th

Walking in walker and Babbling on May 15th

Walking with a chair May 15th

Eating and Laughing on May 24th{7mos}

{Don't mind my hoarse voice here, I was sick.}

Early Intervention

2009-05-21T22:37:00.002-05:00

Though I do not know everything there is to know about Early Intervention, I know that it is a fabulous program that will benefit Carrah greatly.

I called them last week and they set up an interview for next Thursday, one week from today. I will update after the meeting.

Indoor Lighting

2009-05-15T21:35:00.002-05:00

I am sure it isn't necessary to have special lighting in the house, but we have found that GE Energy Smart 15 WATT(=60WATT) Daylight 6500K bulbs are best suited for Carrah's eyes.

She keeps her eyes open and plays much more easily with these bulbs in our home. They show up in almost a blue tint and they become increasingly brighter the longer they are turned on. However, they do not get as bright as regular light bulbs, like I said they are a different color that is easier on her precious little eys.

Sun Protection

2009-05-14T10:42:00.003-05:00

One of the most important thing for Carrah's well being is that we take the right precautions to prevent damaging sun exposure to her skin as well as her eyes. People with Albinism have a much higher risk of developing skin cancer because of their lack of pigmentation.

Something that I noticed even before she was diagnosed was that she couldn't open her eyes outside in the sunlight, or even in bright indoor lights for that matter. The truth is the sunlight can be physically painful to her eyes. For this reason she wears UV protected hats and sunglasses while outdoors.

My favorite UV protected hats and sunglasses so far have come from a company called Coolibar Quality Sun Protection for LIfe.

Carrah is not the biggest fan of hats, but I continue to put them on her in hope that she will get used to them one day.

Another HUGE importance is sunscreen. I have bought more sunscreen in the passed 3 months than I have my entire life. I'm trying so many different products looking for the perfect one. So far my favorite is Coppertone Water Babies Sunscreen SPF 70+

I also tried Banana Boat Ultramist Sunblock Continuous Lotion Spray, Babies Tear Free SPF 50 and hated it! Not that it is a bad product, but how are you supposed to spray sunscreen on a baby? LOL! It was the hardest thing ever. Now for when they're a little bit older, probably a great product!

Doing these things may be a hassle, but it only takes a few minutes to protect her from those awful and damaging sun rays!

From the Begining

2009-05-13T07:49:00.006-05:00

Carrah was born in October of 2008 at a healthy 7lbs 4oz with the whitest hair I had ever seen on a baby. Everyone commented on it, even the nurses, because they had "never seen a newborn with such white hair" I sort of shrugged it off because even though my older daughter Cami was born with black hair, myself and my husband had white hair when we were kids.

When Carrah was around 4 weeks old, I started noticing little things that bothered me about her eyes and I brought my concerns up to my family, who told me I was a worry wart. Everyone told me to wait until she was 3-6months old to tell for sure if something was wrong, so I tried to let it go. But around 7 weeks of age, she would not look at me. I would get right in her face and she would never look into my eyes! I thought she was blind. My heart ached, my stomach was in knots because I was terrified that my beautiful new baby would not be able to see not only the world, but me, her moma! She wouldn't track objects, like toys and her eyes would "bounce"{as I called it} back and forth over and over again. I later learned this is called "Nystagmus."

When I took her in for her 2 month check up, the nurse practitioner told me nothing was wrong. "Oh her eyes just haven't focused yet. Wait a little while longer." I was NOT happy with her response. A couple weeks later, my daughter Cami was sick, so we saw our regular pediatrician. While I was there, I asked her to look at Carrah's eyes and she said "Hmm..something just isn't right is it? She won't focus on anything." Thank goodness, I thought. Someone is finally listening to me!! She set me up an appointment with an Optometrist.

We saw him and as soon as I walked in the door he said "Does Albinism run in your family?" Um..what? I thought, but then I managed to say "No. I've never seen anyone with Albinsim." (The reason I knew what this was, was because my mom and I had been fervently searching online for what may be wrong with Carrah and Albinism had come up. My mom said "No, she can't have that because her eyes aren't pink" and I agreed, so we left it at that.) He said "let's do some tests." so we sat there while he did all sorts of tests on Carrah's eyes. The conclusion was "Ocular Albinism and maybe Optic Nerve Hypoplasia" We were then referred to Opthamologist at Children's.

Went to the Opthamologist in February when Carrah was almost four months old. They did more tests. The diagnosis was "Oculocutaneous Albinism" with NO Optic Nerve Hypoplasia (thank you God!) The other eye doctor thought she may have ONH because he couldn't see the Optic Nerve behind the eye, the reason he couldn't see them was because she has almost no pigmentation behind her eyes, making it hard to see the nerves. While at Chldren's, the Opthamologist had two other doctors come in for a consult on Carrah because it is so rare. The other two had never seen an Albinism case at that hospital.

So there you have it. We must now keep hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen on our beautiful little CareBear. Her skin and eyes are extremely sensitive to the sun! It must be taking very seriously.

Moral of the story: TRUST your MOMMY INSTINCTS!! I knew something was not right with my baby girl when no one else believed me. Thank the Lord it was nothing life threatening, but I'm so thankful we found out as soon as possible.

Now I'm in the process of finding Early Intervention classes, many many UV protected products, as well as other things.

My Mission for Albinism to be Correctly Understood

2009-05-12T16:09:00.005-05:00

I'm creating this blog for my beautiful daughter Carrah Reese, my CareBear. She was dianosed with Albinism when she was almost four months old. It is a genetic disorder that is caused by a defect of Melanin, that produces little to no pigmentation. It affects 1 in 17,000 people all over the world. No particular nationality is at risk. It can happen to anyone anywhere that BOTH parents carry the Recessive Gene. Everyone with Albinism will have some form of Visual Impairment to varying degrees. They will neither be automatically Deaf nor Disabled.

My daughter has Oculocutaneous Albinism. We are not sure which form yet, but we could see a Genetecist to determine that.

This is what NOAH says of the Genetics of Albinism:

The genes for OCA are located on “autosomal” chromosomes. Autosomes are the chromosomes that contain genes for our general body characteristics, contrasted to the sex chromosomes. We normally have two copies of these chromosomes and the genes on them – one inherited from our father, the other inherited from our mother. Neither of these gene copies is functional in people with albinism. However, albinism is a “recessive trait”, so even if only one of the two copies of the OCA gene is functional, a person can make pigment, but will carry the albinism trait. Both parents must carry a defective OCA gene to have a child with albinism. When both parents carry the defective gene (and neither parent has albinism) there is a one in four chance at each pregnancy that the baby will be born with albinism. This type of inheritance is called “autosomal recessive” inheritance.

Ocular albinism (OA1) is caused by a genetic defect of the GPR143 gene that plays a signaling role that is especially important to pigmentation in the eye. OA1 follows a simpler pattern of inheritance because the gene for OA1 is on the X chromosome. Females have two copies of the X chromosome while males have only one copy (and a Y chromosome that makes them male). To have ocular albinism, a male only needs to inherit one defective copy of the gene for ocular albinism from his carrier mother. Therefore almost all of the people with OA1 are males. Indeed, parents should be suspicious if a female child is said to have ocular albinism.

My Goal {taken from my home blog}:

I had no clue what Albinism was before Carrah was diagnosed. Yes I had seen pictures, heard stories, watched television shows that portayed Albinism, but none of those things were accurate. It pains me to see these Hollywood writers, producers, directors and whomever else paint such a incorrect picture of the beautiful community of people with Albinsim.

Some may say that i'm overreacting and that you cannot change the movies. They tell many untruths on television and the big screen, but this one hits close to home. My baby girl deserves the best! She deserves for people to be educated and know the truth rather than only hearing the lies and misinterpretations. It should be something that is more studied and learned about. Her pediatrician and my own doctor didn't have half a clue as to what Albinsim really was. That is unacceptable! They are doctors! This should be something that is studied and known.

I want the truth out there so that people who hear the word Albinism associate it with what it really is. A defect of melanin, which results in little or no pigmentation. And that it comes from a recessive gene in BOTH parents. It is not something that is life threatening, it does not make her weird or a mutant, it does not mean she will be deaf or have learning disabilities, it is simply a lack of pigmentation in her eyes, skin, and hair

There is so much information that I want to share. I will do the majority of it through posts, but I will also try to set up some pages and links on my sidebars with helpful information.

Please do what you can to spread the correct information about Albinism. Stop the hurtful judgements. This is what Albinism really is.

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