My letter to a fellow strabismic

The following is a slight reworking of an email I sent to my brother-in-law, another strabismic:

"We just met with Dr. Press... I start therapy this week! Hopefully there will be some promising results in the 8 months we've scheduled for treatment.

I too am strabismic. No surgeries, just patching and exercises at 6-7 years old until my eye didn't turn in obviously. The optometrist who rediscovered my problem when I was 22 had me promise that I would never get cut... I didn't really appreciate that request until now.

I have far more issues than you... you're lucky to be able to read easily. Everything close for me is hard. Sports are impossible. Reading small type close is nearly impossible. Learning to read music and follow impossible. My female optometrist, back in 1957, told my mom (in my presence, I might add) that, and I quote, " He will never be a professional or amount to anything" ... and then that doctor went through a long list of ALL the professions I would never be able to practice. I remember sitting there thinking to myself, "Oh crap!" 

I'd never have made anything of myself if I hadn't at least tried to do things. As a child I still tried to play to win - losing time and again was very frustrating and I blamed myself constantly. Being picked on as a result didn't exactly boost my self image. Childhood was brutal. It wasn't until my mid teens that I started figuring things out... I learned not to compete. As an adult, I've remained self-employed or worked mostly from home. Now, I know I can never win at any competition consistently. Even if I do, winning rarely repeats. Despite this, my mantra remains my constant: If I don't at least try I'll be just more of a loser for not making the effort. 

I know that correcting my vision will be a long road.

Just like you, Susan Barry had multiple surgeries. Her second was botched and a third had to be done to correct that result. Look at Susan's videos on youtube. Thanks for first telling me of her book."