For families of children with complex eye issues, finding a skilled doctor who can help them is life-changing.
From birth, Wren was in danger of losing her vision due to a congenital eye issue. She underwent several successful surgeries with John A. Moran Eye Center pediatric specialist Griffin Jardine, MD, who afterward gave her a prescription for special eyeglasses that further corrected her vision so she could see out of both eyes.
While her grateful family could afford the glasses, they quickly learned that many other families could not. Some insurance policies don’t cover pediatric glasses, and some families completely lack vision coverage.
Jardine explained this problem to Wren’s family after they expressed a desire to honor his efforts and what Wren describes as a “magic” friend- ship between them. With the family’s generous donation, Jardine created the Pediatric Gift Lens Fund. An average of 100 families have benefited from the fund annually.
“We could just feel the helplessness of parents being told what their child needs for their eyesight to be perfect again, but not being able to provide it for them,” explained Wren’s grandmother.
For Jardine, the fund brings hope and joy to otherwise disheartening conversations.
“Wren’s family is where the magic comes from,” Jardine said. “As a doctor, sometimes there is only so much I can do. A child may still need glasses to see normally. I’m so thankful to be able to tell parents who are struggling to afford those glasses that thanks to a kindhearted family in the community, they don’t have to worry.”
The fund was initially started for Moran pediatric patients with issues like Wren’s, but Jardine recognized a greater need and worked with Wren’s family to expand the initiative.
“The fund now allows pediatric patient families who can’t afford their children’s glasses or contacts to utilize this amazing donation,” Jardine said.
The program is available to all pediatric patients at all Moran locations.
OUTPOURING OF GRATITUDE
Families who have used the fund have expressed their deep gratitude through personal letters shared with Wren’s family. The words of thanks have served as a valuable lesson on the power of giving to Wren, now 10, and her siblings.
In one thank-you note, the mother of a young girl explained her daughter needed glasses but she could not afford to buy them. After benefiting from the fund, the mother sent a card with a picture of her toddler wearing her new glasses.
The picture touched Wren so deeply that it now sits framed on the bedside table in her room. Wren bids the photo “good night” and “good morning” every day.
At her first appointment at Moran, Wren arrived as a nervous and scared 5-year-old, but she quickly relaxed thanks to Jardine’s care.
“I remember Dr. Jardine doing lots of magic tricks and silly things,” said Wren. “It made it more fun and easier. It’s kind of scary when they have to look at your eyes so carefully. He’s also magic because he helps people’s eyes, like mine.”
Jardine’s “magic” is a collection of what many might call dad jokes—fun things he does to help children relax when they arrive for an appointment, like singing a few lines from a princess song or pretending that touching his patient’s knee makes the exam chair go up or down.
“Kids are resistant to exams. They are scared, and some have had negative experiences,” Jardine explained. “My whole exam is contingent on the child looking at me. They have to want to participate, to feel like they are in a safe place.”
Wren looks forward to more “silliness” from Jardine during her checkups every six months and says knowing her family is helping other kids get glasses makes her feel good.
“I get happy every time I see the picture,” Wren said. “I think, ‘I helped get her those glasses,’ and it kind of makes me feel magic to know I helped somebody I didn’t even know.”
