contact fitting = a very, sad sj

SJ has been wanting to get contacts all summer.  I wasn't sure if he was responsible enough to handle contacts, but Bob did fine when he got his at 12.  I took him to the appointment right after school on Monday.

The nurse did preliminary testing and then the optometrist did a thorough eye exam.  He said his eyes looked good and he can see 20/20 with his glasses.  He gave SJ and I a rundown of the things that can go wrong with contacts. He looked at me and told me it was my job to look for signs of eye infections.  (Duh?).  

Another nurse came in to try to place contacts in his eyes.  He kept flinching every time she tried to put the lens in.  After a few tries, I began to realize he was like me.  I can never put anything in my eye (contacts, eye drops, etc.). This poor, patient nurse tried for over 20 minutes.  

SJ suggested to her that she let him put them into his eyes. She explained to him that if she couldn't put it in his eye that he definitely wouldn't be able to do it either.  I told him to let her try and she tried for another 10 minutes.  

He kept blinking and squeezing his eyelids together.  It was practically impossible for her to even get the contact close to his eyes. Finally, I told SJ that we were going to leave.  I promised him we would come back in a few months and try again.  

When we got to the car, he was so upset. He kept blaming the nurse.  "It was all her fault, it was all her fault," SJ sadly said.  I told him that it wasn't her fault and that he was just not ready. It broke my heart to see SJ so sad. Unfortunately, he may be like me and never be able to wear contacts.  Hopefully, I am wrong!