After Treatment, Teen Keeps Eye on the Ball
The results of Vision Therapy are well-documented – countless students have been helped at the office of Dr. Rick Graebe, a behavioral optometrist in Versailles.
Colton Liver, a 13-year-old from Carlisle, is no exception to Graebe’s success rate.
A year ago, Colton suffered from headaches and dizziness, and had trouble seeing. He avoided reading in school and covered one eye to see the page clearly.
An excellent student, he maintained straight A’s but worked extra hard at his schoolwork, often rereading homework assignments.
Colton’s mother, Camille Sewell, was advised by the family’s regular eye doctor to visit Dr. Graebe.
After an initial exam showed that Colton was essentially seeing double, Graebe explained that Colton’s brain was blocking the signal from one of his eyes.
Camille researched Vision Therapy before committing Colton to a Vision Therapy program in November.
They made the 90-minute drive from Carlisle to Versailles once a week. Colton kept up with schoolwork and sports while also completing his Vision Therapy homework five days a week.
Thirty weeks of treatment later, Colton has no headaches, his vision has cleared and he rediscovered his love for reading.
Since Christmas, he has read 10 books and names James Patterson as one of his favorite authors.
And there’s been another benefit: Vision Therapy improved his batting eye.
A player on the Nicholas County Middle School team, he had struggled to see the ball. He had learned to compensate for his vision problems as a batter, but as an outfielder he would often lose track of the ball.
Now, with an improved visual system, Colton has boosted his batting average – he led the team in batting – and he can see the ball easier.
With the help of Dr. Graebe and Colton’s therapist Jessica Niedwick, school and sports are no longer a struggle for Colton.
Colton told his mother that Niedwick “changed my life.”
Said Camille: “This turned things around for him, and we would highly recommend this for anybody.”