He Closed His Eyes

We were doing our morning routine, getting him ready for school. After brushing his teeth, showering and taking inhaler, he looked at me and closed his eyes. I watched him and wondered if the bathroom light was a bit bright for him. Then he spoke "I don't want to be like this mommy" I asked, "Like what?". Then he confirmed what I knew "I can't see anything it is dark. Am I going to be like this? Is this blind?". The mother in me wanted to grab him and hold him and cry but I knew I had to pull from the mother in me who he needed to be strong and honest. He was brave to ask so I had to be brave enough to answer, truthfully and in a way that a five year old can understand. "Open your eyes." I told him. He opened them. "Look at me" I got eye level with him and I said "It is possible, Matteo but Mommy, Daddy and your doctors have been working hard for a long time so there is a chance that it doesn't happen. This is why you have to get eye care every night and this is also why you have had so many eye surgeries." He asked me if we can stop it. I explained to him that we could not but we did a good job at slowing it down. He looked away and said "Okay mom" and just like that, he was on to the next thing. I took pause, looked at my boy and felt grateful for the tough decision we made to fight for his very limited vision. I am glad we did.