We organize the campaign as a family. Please, support Klárka on her way to better eyesight. At the Mind-Eye Institute in Illinois, USA, they provide unique vision therapy. The therapy works directly with the brain and its ability to process images. This will help Klárka improve not only visual perception, but also movement, communication, orientation in the world, and social skills.
Who will we help?
Klárka is 6 years old, she is one of twins and has 5 siblings. She was born full term, but with a traumatized brain that was not oxygenated. In the medical records, her diagnosis reads hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Secondary diagnoses – cerebral palsy, cortical visual impairment, and microcephaly.
Klárka and I have been through a lot. From birth to 9 months old, we did the classic „Vojta“ therapy without major results, and great stress. After which we quickly switched to methods working with the brain and neuromovement, such as the Feldenkrais method, ABM, NeuroHorizons, or Movement Lesson.
Sight is closely related to movement. Klárka´s Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) is not a functional eye problem, but an image processing problem which resides in the parts of the brain that have been affected by the lack of oxygen.
It is not sufficient for her to wear prescription glasses, she needs to „wake up“ her occipital part of the brain , which is responsible for processing visual information. She will then be able to recognize contours, details, or abstract 2D images, and transform them into meaningful and usable information.
To find the optimal solution for Klárka's vision, after a long research and verification of options, we decided to travel to Illinois, USA to the Mind-Eye Institute to see Dr. Deborah Zelinsky, O.D., an optometrist noted worldwide for her work in neuro-optometric rehabilitation, who has been helping multiple disadvantaged clients like Klárka for years.
The therapy includes special glasses that the child uses when performing visual exercises. The eye gets used to the glasses very slowly, it starts with a few minutes a day and the time gradually increases. The parameters of the glasses are repeatedly adjusted according to the instructions of Dr. Zelinsky, so that the child can progress.
The first, up to 4-hour-long, diagnostic consultation takes place in Illinios, USA, and follow-up checks in Brussels with a specialist trained by the Mind-Eye Institute.
Our life is like a marathon without an end, measured in inches. Like other families affected by a similar fate, we try to provide Klárka with the most appropriate help and support her on the path to greater independence.
Institutions like Mind-Eye give us hope for a better future not only for Klárka, but also for other children whose parents do not yet know about this possibility.
What exactly will the money from this campaign be used for?
The amount received will go to cover vision therapy at the American Mind-Eye Institute, where Dr. Deborah Zelinsky, O.D., an optometrist noted worldwide for her work in neuro-optometric rehabilitation, who has been helping multiple disadvantaged clients like Klárka for years.