For children who have undiagnosed vision problems, school can be a real struggle. One such vision problem is known as Vertical Heterophoria (VH), and is caused by a misalignment of the eyes. This misalignment can lead to a variety of uncomfortable and sometimes painful physical symptoms, including headaches and dizziness, nausea and balance issues. VH can also affect learning, making it difficult for some children to do things that come easily to others, such as reading. This was the case for young Kali before she came to see Dr. Debby.
Kali’s Binocular Vision Dysfunction Story
“When I was 12, I had recently finished a round of radiation for an abnormality I had in my brain, and I was still having lots of learning troubles as well as really, really bad headaches and we couldn’t figure out why. One day, I was doing geometry and I was having trouble getting the measures of the angles. So my mom knew that I probably had a visual problem, so being in the medical field she asked a few of her friends, and they all said Dr. Debby Feinberg’s name, and so that’s where we ended up 10 years ago.
“I remember saying that I was having trouble reading, and I couldn’t especially read in the car, and that I would have headaches and dizziness and I would always be bumping into things when I walked. So I remember meeting Dr. Debby and she was really, really nice, which was good because I was pretty nervous. I knew that she wasn’t a regular eye doctor, but I don’t think I knew to the extreme that she would have an impact on my life. And I remember her taping the prisms onto my existing glasses for the first time, and me just immediately feeling taller and being able to see in dimension that I hadn’t been able to see in before, and I finally knew what people meant when they said fat vs. skinny or tall vs. short. And even walking I felt taller and things seemed brighter and I just remember I had this confidence that I didn’t have before. School became a lot easier too, which was nice.
“When I first came in back then she would clip the prisms on, and we would be able to take them home until the glasses came in. So I remember just immediately a big change in just being able to see, and not having headaches and even being able to read a lot easier, which was something I really struggled with. It was like all of a sudden, I could figure out how to get the angles that we were measuring, and it just changed everything.
“I’ve always had problems with my learning. I was even going to be put into a special education class right before I came to Dr. Debby. And after getting the glasses, I didn’t need to go into the special education class, I was able to catch up with reading and with my math and now, I love to read, where before it was just such a challenge – I hated it. And school has just been so much easier and I don’t have to work so hard for every grade, which is nice, especially in college.
“Having your vision checked can really change your life, and sometimes it doesn’t even have to be the prisms, but it’s the doctors and the people who take care of you that can change your life as well. And just having a doctor who had so much faith in me and so much confidence that I could do it helped me to go as far as I have.”
Find Answers at Vision Specialists of Michigan
This is not an experience unique to Kali. Our doctors and staff treat all patients with kindness and compassion, and love being able to help them receive relief from the symptoms of Vertical Heterophoria and other binocular vision issues. If you think you might have a Binocular Vision Dysfunction like VH, contact Vision Specialists of Michigan today at (248) 258-9000 or fill out our online questionnaire. Let us help you get your life back on track!
