How Healthy Vision Improved A Little Girl's Life
We often ask our eye doctors why they chose optometry as their profession. While this content can go a long way on their profile page, we genuinely enjoy hearing the stories they share. Though they give us many different reasons, the one that is common amongst them is their desire to help people.
Success Story
EyeCarePro takes pride in our marketing efforts which allow practices to reach more patients, but even more than that, the impact of those connections; changing more lives for the better. The many remarkable stories our practices tell us remind us of the incredible importance of our work.
We've decided to launch a new series of inspirational stories highlighting some of our optometrists and the amazing work they are doing to help people improve their quality of life through healthy eyes.
This month we’re sharing Dr. Josiah Young and baby Piper's story. So sit back, be inspired and take pride in your profession.
Baby Piper
Wearing Her New Glasses
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Dr. Young: Why Did You Get Into Optometry?
Speaking about why he first got into optometry, Dr. Young tells us that while in undergrad, he had the chance to work for a private optometry practice in his hometown of Portsmouth, Ohio. The senior doctor there, Ray Carson, OD, would explain why he would come into the clinic every day, despite already being at the age of retirement, by saying "I haven't worked a day in my life in this profession. This is fun for me!" Dr. Young says that’s what initially set him on the path to becoming an optometrist.
Dr. Josiah Young
Opticare Vision Centers, Kentucky
Since then Dr. Young has found his passion in pediatric eye care, which he says stems from his enjoyment of children, including his own four kids. “I'm still just a big kid myself. I like joking around in the exam room, getting kids to laugh and smile,” says Dr. Young, “We just have fun and play games for a while and after a few minutes we've had an eye exam!”
Eye Care For Baby Piper
Acting on this intuition, Dr. Young performed an eye exam, confirming a diagnosis of farsightedness with retinoscopy after dilating Piper's eyes. He explained everything to Piper’s parents and prescribed glasses for Piper.
It’s his passion for pediatric eye care that brought Dr. Young to cross paths five years ago with a baby girl named Piper. Dr. Young explains, “If a child has a problem with their visual system at a young age it can really set them back for their learning and development. In Piper’s case, she was not really progressing into crawling and walking like she should have at that age. We suspected that vision was a likely reason for that delay. She wasn’t able to see her world very well, so she wasn’t motivated to explore it.”
Acting on this intuition, Dr. Young performed an eye exam, confirming a diagnosis of farsightedness with retinoscopy after dilating Piper's eyes. He explained everything to Piper’s parents and prescribed glasses for Piper.
When her family came to pick up her glasses, Piper was, like most infants, hesitant to wear anything on her head. So Dr. Young encouraged the parents to try again later on when Piper was in a better mood. They left the office and went down the street to a restaurant where Piper’s mother recorded the moment Piper first put on her glasses. Her incredible and heartwarming reaction to being able to finally see her world, and especially her parents, clearly for the first time went viral. Dr. Young received warm praise from Piper’s family, and the eye care he provided has allowed her to live a better life.
Commenting on this incredible video, Dr. Young says, “I could not watch it without crying tears of joy! I immediately sent the video to my friends and family telling them ‘this [reaction] is the reason why I do what I do.’ It was so satisfying to see her reaction to reaffirm my passion for helping people with their eyes.”
Five years later, Dr. Young gets the opportunity to see Piper about once a year. He says it has been a joy watching her progress in her development. Piper's mother adds "she appreciates everything her glasses help her with in school. They help her see what she is learning in class, and the kids at school compliment her on her glasses all the time. She is a very social and bright girl". Early intervention by her mother in getting Piper's eyes checked really helped her reach her full potential at a young age!
Closing Thoughts
Reflecting on Piper’s story, Dr. Young has the following advice to give to his fellow optometrists:
“Examining an infant or small child can surely seem like a daunting task, but you get better the more you do it. The risk is very little to you, but the reward can be life-changing for both you and the patient. Just do it!”
Piper’s story reminds us of the impact friendly and attentive eye care can have on the lives of even the youngest members of our families!
Do you have a story of a patient that inspired you? Share it with us at EyeCarePro, so we can spread the word and you can inspire others too!
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