VT Works

Life can be tough sometimes.

Just the way it is.

As my 26th year in the Vision Therapy room continues, there’s a new appreciation brewing for my fellow Vision Therapists. There has always been a healthy respect and affection for all who make the choice to enter the VT room day in and day out, but lately, this sense of recognition and favor most of them carry has expanded a bit more. Maybe it’s because my 50th trip around the sun will conclude later this year. Maybe it’s the loss of my dad late last fall. Maybe it’s just a sign of maturity. The root of these feelings may be complex, but their significance to my approach is not only easier to understand, it brings with it a deep sense of gratitude and obligation. There are a lot of really great Vision Therapists in this world.

I’ve been around long enough now to have known many of the great Vision Therapists from years past, many of which have departed the field. Some have changed careers. Some have retired. Sadly, some have passed away. In a recent presentation, a skill Margie Thompson, COVT shared with me long ago came back to my mind, seemingly out of the blue, and was shared on stage. In that moment, it was almost as if Margie was there with me, reminding me in her own way of the importance of going the extra mile for our patients. I was momentarily saddened afterwards recalling just how long it has been since Margie left this world. She certainly left her mark.

My idea in sharing all of this was born out of a conversation at OVDRA’s Annual Meeting last week in Fort Worth, TX. When visiting with a friend after a long day of presenting, the conversation quickly became deep, meaningful, and with great consequence. In a setting where we are all present to learn, and maybe even let our hair down to relax among peers, it’s easy to forget the people we share that space with are themselves fighting an internal battle. After all, how many people do you know who would be brave enough to move across country completely on their own, knowing only one person in their new city, with the idea of building a new life? How many people do you know that possess that kind of courage? It’s a strength many may never know. Betting on yourself, your life, and your chances of success is truly the ultimate flex.

This year’s Annual Meeting of OVDRA was as exciting and fulfilling as it always is, but it felt different to me. Although, since landing back in California some 48 hours ago, I have yet to put my finger on the ‘why’, the feeling is present. It’s a peaceful, and yet uneasy feeling.

Over dinner last week, a dear Vision Therapist friend and I were reminiscing about all the great Vision Therapists we have looked up to in the last 25 years, when she quipped:

‘You do realize we are that group now. The younger generation is looking up to us’.

Not sure if that is true, but if it is, my hope is we enlighten and teach the up and coming Vision Therapists with as much desire, respect, perspective, energy, love, and humility as was bestowed upon us. We owe that to the next generation; the next step.

Henry David Thoreau once wrote “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see”; an interesting commentary on the subjective nature of perception and control we have over our own perspective. Often times, we only see that which we are looking for; how we choose to view it is a different matter entirely.

My perspective these days is different, by force or by the passing of time, the VT world looks different.

And I like what I see…