Miia

Hello everyone and thank you for letting me share my story again with bunch of updates. English isn’t my native language so forgive me for any funny mistakes. My doctors believed, and told me, that 3D vision can only be learned until a specific age. I always had thought that it was not true and when I read Fixing my gaze from Susan Barry at first time, my thinking got confirmation. This was my reality until things began to change in the year of 2017. A Little Of My Background I was born in Austria and moved to Finland when I was 5 years old. I have had a lazy eye (alternating esotropia with dissociated vertical deviation) since I was six months old. I’ve had four total operations as a child and an adult here in Finland. The third surgery, in 2004, left me with double vision. It wasn’t until 2017, when I had my fourth surgery followed by vision therapy, that I gained stereovision and fusion. Before 2017, I saw my environment as in a photo without any depth perception at all. My doctors believed, and told me, that 3D vision can only be learned until a specific age. The doctors always thought that I would be too old to learn it and told me it would be impossible for me to ever gain 3D vision. The Influence Of The Book Fixing My Gaze Luckily, for me, and for patients around the world, Dr. Susan Barry challenged the old science and way of thinking. Her book has served as an information of Vision therapy. For years I doubted this. I wondered, “Why can’t someone learn to see binocularly as an adult?” Then, I read Susan Barry’s book "Fixing My Gaze". Luckily, for me, and for patients around the world, Dr. Susan Barry challenged the old science and way of thinking. Her explanations of neuroplasticity made sense! I understood the brain controlled my vision, not just my eye muscles. I learned there was hope and I could do rehabilitative vision therapy. I had to search for more information myself and luckily, I never gave up. The Influence of Vivid Vision To Boost Starting In A Vision Therapy Program Vivid Vision has been one of the reasons why I am here now! I was finally able to experience 3D vision for myself after my final surgery in 2017 and subsequent vision therapy. I went through the Vivid Vision therapy program with the Oculus Rift from 2017-2019 under the supervision of Dr Julie Steinhauer and Vision For Life & Success. She also prescribed other therapy activities in addition to Vivid Vision. For example, I used the Bernell-O-Scope as well as red-green glasses, flipper prism lenses, Syntonic filter light therapy, and Brock string. As a result of my final surgery and vision therapy, a whole new world opened for me! It was a different way to see and when I saw for the first time the layers of depth in trees, my eyes became filled with happy tears. I could not believe my eyes. My long-wished dream came true! My local opticians here in Finland have followed me even after I graduated from vision therapy in 2018. They test my binocular vision and abilities using multiple tests. I now have a positive stereofly test and TNO test for example. Dream To Help Others With Same Problems And Plans For The Future  As a result of my experience, I decided that I want to help others in the same situation. I am currently pursuing rehabilitation and Bachelor of Social Services degree with the hopes of eventually becoming a vision therapist. I've had the opportunity to do some optometry courses in the open university of applied sciences here in Finland. Vivid Vision among Vision therapy program has been one of the reasons why I am here now! I never thought this form of life which I’m living now to be possible. It feels like being in a roller coaster ride with ups and downs and learning new things in environment and in studies. It feels so unbelievable to be able to study again and read tons of books and write texts with computer. I am also getting excited because this spring I am going to my first trainee for 2,5 months in the studies of social services. I am going to do for example multicultural work in a classroom in addition to project with young adults. Becoming a specialist of multicultural work is one of my biggest dreams among plans to be vision therapist, health scientist, or rehabilitation counselor. It would also be cool to find my way into studies of health science at university in medical faculty. I am also willing to be part of projects related to vision therapy and eye problems. Some day it would be cool to work in our hospital with eye patients advising them and establish a vision therapy program here.