I was diagnosed with amblyopia (lazy eye) in my right eye at the age of three, so my brain essentially only used my dominant (left) eye. I virtually had no depth perception and it was difficult for me to participate in team sports. The only sports I tried were soccer and baseball; in soccer sometimes, I would get hit in the face if the ball came from the right and in baseball I had one of the lowest batting averages on the team. My primary sport through middle school and high school was track since it was one of the only sports that didn’t involve contact with a ball and I also participated in concert and marching band. Band was also frustrating since I could only read music well with my left eye and oftentimes, I would have to position my stand and instrument in awkward positions to play and see the instructor. Also, my left eye would often become fatigued from reading a book or watching TV for an extended period of time since I would rarely use my right eye.
When I was a junior in high school my mom noticed an advertisement for the Vision Development Center in The Herald and we fortunately discovered it was not too late to try to improve my vision. I had vision therapy appointments once a week my senior year of high school supplemented by home activities and I finally started to notice changes at the end of my senior year. I began to feel more aware of my surroundings while driving and I noticed my eyes could handle reading or using a computer for longer periods of time. I became involved with intramural sports in college and I have been able to catch Frisbees and shoot basketballs with a much higher accuracy. I am finally able to read with both eyes for a long period of time and I can even read music with both eyes. I am currently a student in Civil Engineering at Purdue University and I believe having depth perception and using both eyes all of the time will be vital for my success as a student and as a professional engineer. The Vision Development Center transformed my vision so that I will have an enjoyable college experience and a better quality of life as an adult. Thank you for helping me improve my vision Dr. Bauernfiend!