Mom makes creative eye patches for her daughter with amblyopia

Cathy Thompson’s daughter, Mackenzie, was diagnosed with amblyopia (“lazy eye”) at the age of 3, and was required to wear an eye-patch to correct her condition. However, Cathy found it very challenging to motivate her daughter to wear the eye patch, which she had to wear “all day, every day”. Cathy found that the design of the available eye patches was not very appealing and did not help to encourage her daughter to wear them.

“"At the time, the only eye patches available were the beige stick-on style or the old black 'pirate' eye patches. When she wore her stick-on eye patch, strangers would think she had injured her eye and were constantly asking her what was wrong with it. She was embarrassed and self conscious, so I set out to design an eye patch that would make her eye patching time more comfortable and fun", Cathy Thompson explains.

The first eye-patch she made was decorated with a kitten design and was attached over Mackenzie’s glasses, making it more comfortable. It was a success, Mackenzie loved it, so Thompson began making more and selling them at a local eye doctor’s office. As the interest grew, Cathy started selling them online and has since created Patch Pals. Patch Pals eye patched are approved by ophthalmologists and optometrists for treatment of lazy eye, amblyopia, strabismus and post eye surgeries.

Nowadays, Patch Pals offers designer cloth patches for children, adults and babies. Moreover, applying her B.A. in Psychology and her experience as an elementary school teacher, Cathy created the Patch Pals Club, to help children connect with other kids that wear eye patches. There is also a section with resources to provide support for parents to help their kids through this journey.

Adapted from: https://www.today.com/today/amp/tdna166441

More information: https://patchpals.com/