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