Helloooo out there! I’m Jo, the founder and sole blogger (so far) for the Shifty Eyes blog.

A bit about me:

You can always check out my About page, but for those who don’t feel like clicking the link, I’ll just tell you again. I’m a young person who is trying to navigate through newly acquired adulthood. By trade I’m a corporate paralegal, by night I’m a superhero. I also happen to live with a condition called Nystagmus.

Ok, I’m not really a superhero.

A bit about Nystagmus:

The most basic definition is “involuntary eye movement.” There are many different forms of Nystagmus, of which I will not go into great detail here. Mine is called “Congenital Nystagmus” which is a fancy term that means I’ve had it since I was born or shortly after. My particular eye movements are pendular; they move in a smooth horizontal motion, very quickly back and forth. The condition is permanent. There is currently no cure or even effective treatment. It’s difficult to explain Nystagmus and what it’s like to live with it in a paragraph, which is why I have dedicated a whole blog to this particular aspect of my life.

Why a blog?

Turns out, there’s not a lot of shifty-eyed love out there. Only in the past 15 or so years have there been any organized support or information out there for people living with Nystagmus and their loved ones. While these organizations are great when it comes to learning about the physical condition, there is not a lot out there that explains what it’s like to live day to day. Most shifty-eyed people live their entire lives without meeting anyone else who knows what it’s like.

This blog is for all of those people who have Nystagmus but who don’t know anyone else going through the same experiences. It’s also for parents of children with Nystagmus who want to know what it’s like to grow up with the condition. And for everyone else out there, who knows? You may know and love someone with shifty eyes, or you may in the future. I’ll probably also insert my opinions about life and the world in general here and there, because hey, it’s my blog.

xoxo

Jo