Adult
I was a world competitive figure skater that suffered three concussions in three consecutive weeks. Embarrassingly, only one of them was due to a fall on a quadruple jump while training. My symptoms ranged from: double vision, dizziness, debilitating anxiety, depression, memory loss, confusion, and the list goes on. I had no idea I had such severe double vision until I started my vision therapy with Margaret. I was prescribed prism glasses at the start of the therapy. They literally got me back on my feet due to the dizziness I felt.
My brain just couldn’t process some basic functions most people don’t think about. I couldn’t communicate with people very well. Everyone spoke Chinese to me while they said I spoke Chinese to them. I couldn’t comprehend body language or facial expressions. One of the problems I didn’t realize I had was when I looked someone in the eye, their face would start moving and separating in the middle. I was constantly on edge and felt like everyone and everything was threatening my life. My reality as I had known it had completely shattered. I could barely walk, I couldn’t socialize with friends, it got so bad that I couldn’t leave my bed for months. I had lost everything!
The vision therapy helped me return very slowly to living my life. Even though I’m still recovering emotionally from three years of this torture, I have my life back. I feel like me again and not like a scared little squirrel all the time. I will admit that this therapy was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I did it! I’m not trapped in a dark room anymore! I kept fighting by doing my vision exercises every single day. Now that I’m on the other side of the tunnel, I get to raise awareness of concussions and how they can be treated. I’m in a great position to help people who don’t know what’s wrong with them.
If someone is struggling long after they receive a concussion, they’re not going crazy. Nobody believed my symptoms were real. Even the people close to me thought I was exaggerating or just “being a baby”. The first person to understand was when I got my vision evaluated by Dr. Watt. I’m so lucky to have had such a supportive team, they were determined to NEVER let me say, “I’ll never get better”.