Mind-Eye Institute Helping Shooting Victim Read and Write Again

Doctors told the then 18-year-old gunshot victim that her eyesight would not likely improve, “but they were wrong,” said Evelyn Bunte, who is enjoying quality of life again. “I am able to read, write and sew again.”

This is all thanks to the Mind-Eye Institute, founded by Deborah Zelinsky, O.D. Evelyn underwent a unique testing and evaluation protocol at the Mind-Eye Institute in Northbrook, IL, and was prescribed a special set of “brain” glasses that she says have literally “put my life in a better place.”

Evelyn was shot several times in the head and face in Texas in November 2016 and left “totally blind” and paralyzed on her right side. One of the bullets pierced her brain’s occipital lobe, which controls eyesight. “Eventually, my sight – and physical abilities – began returning, but I was still left with black spots and tunnel vision,” noted Evelyn. “Initially, I could not read or write at all, and my impaired eyesight even made walking difficult. At home, I had to slide downstairs on my buttocks.”

A neurologist initially told Evelyn, now 20, that her vision would only improve to a point, and whatever eyesight she had a year following the shooting would be pretty much what she would be left with. However, in the fall of 2017, a family friend recommended she visit the Mind-Eye Institute and schedule an appointment with Dr. Zelinsky, an optometrist noted worldwide for her work in neuro-optometric rehabilitation.

Dr. Zelinsky ran Evelyn through a series of tests that included her patented Z-Bell Test®, which has become internationally recognized by eye experts and scientists for its ability to evaluate patients’ ability to integrate spatial localization in both visual and auditory systems.

Dr. Zelinsky first had her close her eyes while wearing her regular glasses – the ones Evelyn’s eye doctor had prescribed. Dr. Zelinsky rang a small bell near Evelyn, and, with her eyes closed, had to reach out and touch the bell, but couldn’t do it. “I kept missing it,” stated Evelyn. “Then, with my eyes still closed, she put a different set of lenses on me and tried various colored filters over the lenses. Suddenly, I started hitting the bell. It was crazy.”

Added Dr. Zelinsky, “The right mix of filters, lenses and/or prisms can re-adjust a patient’s visual balance and eye-ear connection by altering the way light disperses across the retina. The retina is a piece of brain tissue. That’s why changes in luminance on the eye will affect how the brain interprets and reacts to information about the environment and can impact a person’s spatial awareness, movement and selective attention to sound.”

Unlike eyeglasses that merely correct central eyesight, eyeglass prescriptions developed through the Z-Bell Test® are therapeutic, bringing patients like Evelyn relief for a range of symptoms caused by eye-ear imbalances, brain injuries and other neurological issues, including learning problems. Since her visits to the Mind-Eye Institute, Evelyn has become employed and is now planning to go to college in August.

“My recovery has been, well, pretty amazing,” concluded Evelyn.

About Mind-Eye Institute

The Mind-Eye Institute is an optometry practice with an emphasis on neuro-optometric rehabilitation that provides world-class care by prescribing state-of-the-art therapeutic lenses based on peripheral eyesight and depth perception testing, rather than central eyesight. Through groundbreaking research and innovative treatments, Dr. Zelinsky and her team have been creating life-changing experiences for nearly 30 years, by viewing patients on an individual basis. For more information, please call 847-501-2020 or visit http://mindeye.com.

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