Monthly Archives: July 2011

ANN 2011 – Dr. Hertle

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Just finished hearing from Dr. Hertle.

Well this live blogging thing is going to be hard. There is so much that I still have to process.

1. It’s freakin emotional to hear even INTEREST about this condition from a doctor. I have always wanted to learn more from my optometrist about the medical background but thought that maybe they just weren’t interested it taking the time to tell me. But really, it looks like most doctors are just really ignorant about it.

2. The little medical knowledge I have of my particular nystagmus is probably wrong. Or at least it was just a best guess by me based on things I had read. And given all of the misinformation there is out there, this is probably not accurate. I am making a mental note to revise the little medical information I have on this blog.

3. I learned a lot more about treatment. Treatment is something that I’ve had mixed feelings about. This was definitely educational, and I will go into more detail about what I learned in a later post.

I think what I really took from listening to Dr. Hertle is that I want to get tested by a specialist.  Not necessarily because I feel that I need a specific treatment, but at least so that I can learn enough to make an educated decision about whether or not I want to receive any sort of treatment. If nothing else, it’s comforting just to be able to fully understand what is happening with my own body, something that I think a lot of optometrists/ophthalmologist don’t really understand.

Maybe that will be my next nystagmus adventure…

ANN 2011 – Breakfast

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I’m eating breakfast in the large group room waiting for the program to start. Dr. Richard Hertle is the keynote speaker at the conference. It seems he is the foremost expert when it comes to nystagmus nowadays.

When I was growing up, Doctors pretty much summed my nystagmus like this: It’s nystagmus, it’s not curable, it probably wont get worse, and it might get better. There’s not much you can do about it.” The end. It seems this has been the experience of a lot of people. I never really had a great medical understanding of what is going on with my eyes, so I’m really interested in what he has to say. Stay tuned…

ANN Conference 2011 – Kick Off

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Wow!

The ANN Conference started this afternoon. Today was mostly checking in and meeting everyone; the official workshops etc start tomorrow. But I gotta tell you, it’s been really amazing so far.

I started at a round table for adults with nystagmus. And can I just say, I have never felt more comfortable with a group of perfect strangers in my entire life. There is just an instant connection; an understanding. It’s not that I feel particularly self-conscious when I meet people without nystagmus, it’s just always there in the back of your mind. You get used to expecting that look of recognition when people realize that your eyes move unexpectedly. Here, I feel an incredible freedom to look around anywhere I want and not have to potentially have that moment with someone . I don’t know, it’s hard to explain.

And that’s just it: I don’t have to explain. Everyone just… knows.

I can’t wait to get started tomorrow. I’ll be blogging straight from the conference, so there will probably be a few posts throughout the day. I will not be blogging during the Youth Panel because I’ll be leading discussion 🙂 but I will post something about it later in the evening.

I’ll also try to pick up a few more personal nystagmus stories from individuals. Maybe I can even recruit a guest blogger for down the road. If you are at the conference, hit me up people!

Talk to you soon!

Jo

Happy Two Year Anniversary!

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Exactly two years ago today I started the Shifty Eyes Blog!

Wow, what a couple of years it has been. I started this blog because i really felt like there wasn’t a lot of information about how people lived with Nystagmus available on the internet. Now there are so many blogs, I can’t keep up with them all! And I couldn’t be happier. I think connecting with other people is one of the best ways to deal with this condition, for both those who live with it and for their loved ones.

I’ve said this before, but Nystagmus really doesn’t take up that much time in my life. I’ve talked about Nystagmus more in the past two years than I have for my entire life preceding this blog. I swear, my dog’s allergies affect him more than my Nystagmus affects me. There are a lot of things I could say today, but I think what I really want to say is, turn off the computer and go live life.

We all run in to obstacles. They don’t define who we are. One of my obstacles happens to be Nystagmus, but for all I love my blog, I am not “woman-with-Nystagmus”. I’m Jo. I have a husband and a very naughty dog. I read too much, and worry about whether I should change my cell phone plan or if I remembered to make my student loan payment. I watch ridiculous reality TV shows and write a little on the side. I have poker night with my buddies and play video games with my nephew. I’m happy.

I’m Jo. Now, go be you.

ANN Conference

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Hey everyone!

I’m getting really pumped about the American Nystagmus Conference in Washington D.C. I can ‘t believe it’s only a couple of weeks away. Time has gone by so quickly!

There are two reasons why I am especially excited…

I officially have ANN permission to blog live while I’m at the conference. This means I can post pictures, videos, and talk about what’s going on at the conference while it is all happening. I hope that all of you will one day be able to attend an ANN conference, but for those of you who can’t make it this year, do not fear! I’ll try to document as much as I can so you can at least experience a little bit of it. I only wish I could attend all of the panels and discussions they have set up. It all looks pretty amazing…

The other reason I am very excited is that I will be participating at the conference! I have been asked to moderate a panel  of young people who have successfully navigated their way through life with Nystagmus. Sound familiar? Those are my kind of people! It’s a big honor to be asked to lead this discussion, and I am really excited to sit down with everyone and open a window into what it is like for a young person with Nystagmus. I think a lot of parents with young children who have Nystagmus will find this panel particularly informative. One of my goals at the panel (and with this blog) is to hopefully alleviate some of the fears that parents have when their child is diagnosed.

I think one of the biggest things I’m looking forward to at the conference is just to meet other people with nystagmus face to face. I have made a lot of shifty-eyed friends over the internet who I wouldn’t trade for the world, but I have yet come in to physical contact with someone who has the same condition as me. It’s funny, in some ways the role will be reversed for me. I’m so used to seeing other people react to my Nystagmus that I’ve never really given any thought to what my reaction would be. I have heard that it can be pretty emotional. I guess we’ll see 🙂

To all my shifty-eyed friends, let me know if you are coming to the conference! Can’t wait to meet you! And if you won’t be able to make it this year, let me know what parts you would be interested in. I’ll have to be your eyes this time. Ha, that will be a first!

Jo