January 07, 2010

Cross-eyed

Three days ago now, Zion's right eye took an almost permanent horizontal veer into his nose. For the last few weeks we've noticed it doing this off and on, but were not too concerned. I (Daniel) thought we'd just wait till we head back to the states in a couple of months to get it checked out. When it became apparent that his eye was rapidly getting worse, we made some phone calls.

Within 18 hours, he and I were on a plane to Hong Kong. What was initially supposed to be a two day trip has become a six day long endeavor. Thankfully, Dr. Yu is exceptionally good with children and very reassuring. Turns out young Zion is far sighted and needs glasses. The good Doc recommends that we get them immediately because that will almost guarantee a full recovery of sight and eye functioning.

For now, Zion is cross-eyed and dangerously cute. Dr. Yu gave him some eye drops, which I will continue to administer over the next few days, that will help him determine exactly what kind of glasses Zion needs. Side effects include, pupils the size of nickels and a constant lazy eye. Thankfully, he's only disoriented in a minor way.

Tonight on our way to dinner, for an unknown reason the hotel manager suddenly became a zombie and slowly chased little Zion around the lobby. Though stumbling, and not exactly on his a-game, the Z was elated. We then pushed our way through the crowded streets to TGI Friday's for a meal - what a treat! I had Cajun chicken pasta with shrimp. The waitress brought the Z an orange and yellow crayon, to which he looked up, one eye locked on her smile, the other looking at who knows what, and said, "I like crayons."

So now I sit in a small, dark hotel room quietly typing while he sleeps. Definitely glad that his eye will return to its normal state. On one hand, he needs to be able to see. On the other, disciplining him is almost impossible. When he refuses to come to the bath tub because he wants to play for a few more minutes, it is really hard to not just laugh as he tries to get himself to make eye contact with me.

Now we'll sleep and tomorrow we'll ride the ferry.