My name is Rosa and I live in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In February 2021, I fainted and my head and body fell onto the bathroom floor. I remembered how I had blurry vision and felt lightheaded. I went to the hospital a few days later and saw a neurologist and my PCP, they could not find anything wrong with me. Later, I realized that This is a typical PCS (Post Conccusion Syndrome), many people including me left undiagnosed and didn’t know how to move forward with our healing.
After a month, my symptoms persisted. I did not feel better, so I found an upper-spine chiropractor to help me. That’s how I learned that I sustained Conccusion and whiplash with his adjustment on my neck and spine area. I saw changes in my vision, from blur to shadow looks in my right eye. Driving is exhausting for me.
I remembered how driving on the highway set me to a panic attack. It was a traumatic experience for me and it took me a long time to figure out my body and vision. In my first year, I visited many doctors, naturopaths, and other therapists to help me. Everything is improved slowly but I still can’t drive or go to stores and be around crowds.
Before the injury, I was a graphic and web designer, and somehow designing become a difficult task for me. There is something wrong with my visual information processing skills and cognitive skills. I felt that I can not do things that I used to be good at. I visited three eye doctors in Oklahoma (two regular eye doctors and one Neuro Ophthalmologist). The regular eye doctors thought my vision was perfect and the Neuro Ophthalmologist diagnosed me with Convergence Insufficiency. He treated me with three prisms glasses for CI, but they did not help me.
My search for vision come to light when I found Vision Therapy for Brain Injury & Concussion Support Group on Facebook. I was sharing my experience about my difficulty with driving and I am just not sure why bright lights or motion also set my body off. With the help of a knowledgeable Optometrist over there, I learned that I need to find a Vision therapist in my state who practices Syntonics. I went to South Tulsa Vision Development Center and get guidance from Dr. Megan Ford to do neuro-vision rehabilitation. From the initial appointment, we learned that I have many issues with my vision (accommodative, saccade, gazing, convergence insufficiency). She put Syntonics on my eyes for the very first time, and I can go to the restaurant afterward without earphones. I know at that time that Vision therapy and Syntonics will change my life.
Along with Dr. Ford, I also work with Dr. Amy Thomas from Arizona Vision Therapy. She has been guiding me to heal my brain. I am wearing her therapeutic glasses which helped me more with the peripheral nervous system ( peripheral vision and automatic nerve system). Now, I can drive a short distance comfortably and go to stores and crowds without getting overwhelmed. I can’t thank Vision Therapy enough to give back my life.
My progress improved significantly after vision therapy. I was a web and graphic designer before my concussion. Working on vision therapy helped me to regain those paths that I haven’t accessed since my PCS. From the vision therapy, I learned that I need to work on my Vestibular Ocular Reflex (VOR). So, I have been adding vestibular PT to my weekly therapy now.
During this journey, I joined several Conccusion and Vestibular groups:
- Pink Concussion (4.4K women members who sustained Conccusion and Tbi around the world) https://www.facebook.com/groups/PINKconcussionsWomen/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT
- Conccused Mom Group (13 participants of women across the US and Canada) – WhatsApp / Instagram group
- Vestibular Disorder Support Group (21K members from all around the world) https://www.facebook.com/groups/894515707291390/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT
- Vision Therapy for Brain Injury and Concussion Support Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/vtfortbi/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT
I have been sharing with them my experience with Vision Therapy as much as I can. I hope more people get educated on how powerful Syntonics and Vision are to heal their brains. Vision and vestibular also go hand in hand, I do feel Vision therapy and Syntonics need to have more digital presence in our world. If I look at Instagram or Facebook, I did not see anything about Syntonics or Vision Therapy outside the vision group.
Daily I met many people who complain about PCS and TBI symptoms that range from dizziness, headache, Vestibular migraine, can’t read, can’t focus, Neuro fatigue, and balance problems. And, with this situation, they do not know how to find ways to help themselves even if they have been to rehab or multiple therapies. I told many people in the Support Groups how our vision is connected very well with our brain. I told them how the moment I put on my therapeutic glasses, the tinnitus in my left ear is disappear. There is a strong connection between vision, the ear, and our vestibular systems.
I saw many threads at the Vestibular Disorder Support Group where people complained about Vestibular migraine or overstimulation from vision. They often put a post about how these symptoms challenge them when they go to stores, leave home, driving. I hope this group gets more attention from Optometry. Normally, I will share with them the brochure I got from my OD office (it’s the brochure about Post Vision Trauma).
It frustrated me when people who are stuck in their journey and keep saying is an invisible disease and no one understands them. I know that many people are frustrated with their PCS because they feel like they have been to many doctors and they think this is it. I want to help them to understand how Optometry can help them.
Thank you for reading my story. I’m grateful that I have access to and knowledge about how to heal the brain with vision therapy. I shared with many people how 80 percent of our brains are vision nerves, so Optometry has the knowledge to retrain the brain pathway. I see and feel with my experience, how connected our vision and brain are. It’s amazing to see the difference in my personality and character after I do vision therapy.
In my experience, I met very few people who know about Syntonics. In the Pink Conccusion group, I met less than 20 women who talked about it. And, we often talked about how Syntonics helped recharge our brains from vision. I never saw any thread from the Vestibular Disorder group talking about Syntonics. I hope more people can get education on how Optometry and Syntonics can be amazing tools for healing Vision, Vestibular, and brain.
I have a background in graphics, web design, and marketing. Vision therapy helped me reconnect some parts that broke after my injury. I am still doing PT and meeting with my vision team monthly. I would love to volunteer in a way that I can spread more information about how powerful Syntonic and Vision therapy is for healing the brain.
