Sarah

When I first started visual therapy in May I felt like everything I was doing was impossible and I thought it would never get easier. Patching was really hard in the beginning. I would put the patch on and I could barely get my eye to focus just to see because of the nystagmus (from my albinism) and I was having trouble trying to do the activities. It still isn’t easy but I can tell that the nystagmus has calmed down some. My right eye has been harder to control than my left eye. Before I started my balance was terrible, almost nonexistent. Trying to get a syntonic measurement was hard and would take a few minutes to get my eyes to focus enough to be able to see. My peripheral vision started opening up pretty quickly but it took me a while to be aware that it was opening. I think the first time I really noticed what I was able to see was in July. I was actually sitting in church on Sunday morning and there was a light off to the side that was flickering and I was able to see it. It was actually really distracting:) That was the beginning of me being aware of all the things I could see because of the peripheral vision that was opening up. It was around that time or maybe into August that I started to notice the nystagmus slowing down a little. I was starting to be able to control my eyes better than I was before and I was starting to see success with the activities and stuff that I was doing while I was patching. In October I started going to a Bible college in Oregon and that was a hard transition. The first month especially was stressful and I didn’t get much sleep. Stress and lack of sleep have always been two big triggers for my nystagmus and while that was still there I know my nystagmus would have been a lot worse if I had been going through all of that before starting therapy.. I have been doing simple balance exercises while I do syntonics and I have been being more intentional about working on my balance and I have noticed that it has gotten a lot better. Before I started it was so bad that I couldn’t even stand on one foot. But it has gotten so much better. Before I started therapy I couldn’t write in a straight line on a blank unlined piece of paper. At church a couple weeks ago all I had to take notes on was a blank unlined piece of paper and I noticed that I was able to write in a straight line. I had to work at it but I was able to. I can read the slides that the teachers have for us in class and as long as the print isn’t super tiny or a weird color I can read the words. I have even seen improvement on how I am able to read the slides since the beginning of October when I started school. Wednesday nights we have a worship time where we sing worship songs and I usually try to be in the front so I can read the words that are put up on the projectors. Last Wednesday I came in late and was in the back which is a ways away from the screen. I was able to make out the words. It was a little hard to get my eyes to focus but I was able to and read the songs. I know I wouldn’t have been able to do that without therapy.