2021-Annual-Report

CARING FOR OUR COMMUNITY

Finding Focus Following Traumatic Brain Injury

“It wasn’t until a few years after the accident that I came to realize the full extent of my brain injury,” explained Marshall. “I began to bump into people and things, lose memory and train of thought, and had difficulty reading due to double vision.” Her neurologist at NYU Langone’s Rusk Rehabilitation Institute recommended that she seek help for her vision problem at the University Eye Center. “It was the best decision for me because I saw tremendous improvement in my eyesight. Once my vision was addressed, all of my other modalities—like balance issues—fell into place.” That was in 2004. Fast forward to 2015, Marshall began to experience extreme pressure in her eyes due to advancing glaucoma. She was losing her vision and given an eyeglass prescription that didn’t help her double-vision. “I was told that nothing more could be done to correct the problem. It was unacceptable to me,” said Marshall. “That’s when I remembered the care I received at the University Eye Center and made my return.” For people with TBI and related eye issues, vision therapy or rehabilitation can help alleviate symptoms and improve brain-eye communication. Customized for the individual, a prescription for vision therapy consists of personalized exercises that include colored tints, lenses, prisms, filters, occluders, and other equipment. The exercises aim to help patients develop visual skills and process information more effectively. For homebound patients, the UEC offers teletherapy, including a software program that provides instructions and videos. Length of treatment can be several weeks to months depending on the severity of vision issues and achieving therapy milestones. Marshall underwent weekly vision therapy at the UEC for six months. An educator with expertise in African American studies, she has resumed work on an oral and written account of her family history which requires studying and synthesizing hundreds of photos, letters, documents, and archives. “I am overjoyed about my progress and what I can do—my care at the Center has been excellent.” “ It was the best decision for me because I saw tremendous improvement in my eyesight.” — Mary Marshall, PhD

Patient with TBI improves eyesight and outlook on life with help from her optometrist

the part of the brain that controls the eyelid muscles stops working correctly. She was also diagnosed with glaucoma. All these problems were due to a traumatic brain injury (TBI). “There is a wide variety of visual problems associated with traumatic brain injury—especially when the injury is diffuse, as is the case in a concussion,” explained Rima Bakhru, OD, ’15, vision rehabilitation specialist and faculty member at SUNY College of Optometry University Eye Center. “The visual system takes up a huge percentage of brain matter and is spread through many different lobes as it travels from the eyes to the back of the brain and projects to other systems.”

More than 25 years have passed since retired historian and college professor Mary Marshall, PhD, was a passenger in a car crash that changed the course of her life. The accident resulted in a collapsed lung and months of rehabilitation, but her health issues didn’t end there. Upon returning to the classroom to wish her students well on their finals, Marshall’s students noticed that she had difficulty speaking and was continually blinking and squinting her eyes. A further medical evaluation revealed she had abductor laryngeal dystonia, causing spasms of the muscles of the voice box and blepharospasms of the eye, a condition that occurs when

The Bowery Mission joined forces with New York City Rescue Mission in Tribeca that will include a SUNY Optometry-run clinic, directed by Constandina Manettas, OD, ’20: “Everyone deserves the best vision possible.” (Photo courtesy of The Bowery Mission)

On a Mission for Accessible Eye Care

The Optometric Center of New York (OCNY) received a series of grants to help advance a partnership between the College and The Bowery Mission in Manhattan to provide high-quality vision care for the city’s underserved population. With locations in the Bowery and Harlem, The Bowery Mission recently joined forces with an outreach center in Tribeca to expand services and aid for those in need, including

a new optometry clinic opening in February 2022. “Part of our

To learn more about community outreach, scan the QR code.

mission as an institution is to help care for our community and to instill a spirit of community involvement in our students,” said Richard Soden, OD, ’79, OCNY board president. “This program will help us do both of those things.” Outreach by SUNY Optometry staff and students extends beyond the Bowery to include many collaborative public health initiatives with schools, clinics, organizations, and missions throughout our region and the world.

Dr. Rima Bakhru guides patient Mary Marshall through visual rehabilitation exercises.

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