Rachael Angstadt – How I Got My Life Back After a Car Accident with Vision Therapy
Dr. Bryce Appelbaum
From Losing Her Job to Salsa Dancing Again — Rachael’s Story of Hope, Healing & Vision Rehabilitation
38-year-old occupational therapist Rachael Angstadt shares her emotional and deeply inspiring journey of recovery after a life-changing car accident in 2022.
Following a head and neck injury, Rachael began experiencing debilitating symptoms she didn’t realize were rooted in vision dysfunction. Despite seeking medical answers, she was told her eyes “worked well enough” and that vision therapy wasn’t necessary.
But her life told a different story.
Before beginning Vision Therapy at MyVisionFirst, Rachael struggled with:
❌ Raging headaches from simply looking between her keyboard and computer screen
❌ Difficulty walking across a room and safely sitting in a chair
❌ Severe nausea from visual motion, water, sunlight, and moving leaves
❌ Visual fatigue so intense she was taking six naps a day
❌ Losing her job and fearing the loss of her independence
Everything changed when she found MyVisionFirst and underwent a comprehensive Functional Vision Evaluation. For the first time, she understood the true cause of her symptoms and had a path forward.
Rachael’s Transformations Through Vision Therapy:
✅ Dramatically increased visual stamina, allowing her to use a computer, shift focus between screens and tasks, and stay visually engaged without her brain shutting down
✅ Ability to safely drive again even to and from salsa dancing lessons
✅ Resolved motion-triggered nausea
✅ Restored depth perception and visual confidence
✅ Ability to cook, eat, clean, and function independently again
✅ A renewed sense of trust in her body and her life
Her message is clear and powerful:
“If your eyes hurt, feel dry, if you’re missing the chair, seeing things move, or needing constant naps — that is not normal. Don’t wait. Get the evaluation.”
Rachael’s story is a testament to resilience, advocacy, and the transformative power of Vision Therapy for those recovering from concussion, whiplash, and traumatic brain injuries.
🔔 Tune in to hear Rachael’s inspiring journey and learn how Vision Therapy can change lives!
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Helpful Resources:
👁️ Learn more about Vision Therapy & Vision Performance Training: https://myvisionfirst.com/services/vision-therapy/
📲 Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/drbryceappelbaum
📋 Take the Free Online Vision Assessment: www.myvisionfirst.com/quiz
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💬 Have you or someone you know struggled with reading, depth perception, or vision challenges? Share your experiences in the comments!
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Full Transcript
Rachel's Injury and Vision Problems 0:00
and the more research that I did, it was pretty clear that this is where people go to get better. Hi, my name is Rachel Einstadt. I'm from Alexandria, Virginia. i'm 38 years old and an occupational therapist.I had been in a car accident in the fall of 2022 and ended up with a head and a neck injury and didn't realize how many of my symptoms were related to visual problems. Knew things weren't right, but I didn t know how bad they were. until I went to vision first, and then I had the evaluation.
I was pretty much non-functional at this point, where I couldn't look at a computer screen and look down at the keyboard,
Life Disrupted by Visual Symptoms 0:34
then look back up at that computer without having a raging headache. And I also didn't trust myself to be able to get up and walk across the room and sit down accurately in the chair without missing the chairs. At that point I'd already lost my job and I pretty fearful of losing my entire livelihood. my independence, I did end up going to an optometrist. They actually said that I didn't need any form of vision therapy because my eyes worked well enough together and they did recommend prism glasses.
I ended up graduating out of them pretty fast because I still wasn't functional. i'm still working with my vision first. My visual tolerance and stamina was very terrible.
Vision Therapy and Recovery 1:14
my Eyes could only function for a short time period before my brain would just shut down and I would have to lay down, close my It would be a stretch for me to be able to prepare a meal, cook a me all and by that time my eyes are pretty much done and I wouldn't be even clean up the meal but now. going through vision therapy, I can tolerate so much more. So like I could look at water where before if I looked at the water I was so nauseated. I wanted to throw up then and there and the whole world moved.
Like I couldn't look out my windows because the leaves on the trees shook and shadows with the sunshine irritated me so that I just couldn t look there. Now I can drive to the salsa dance lesson, have that lesson and then safely drive back home.
Advice to Get Evaluated 2:02
Like if you're not trusting your depth perception or you are missing something or see something out of the corner of your eye, that's not normal. And I was taking like six naps a day and that is not functional. You can't make it through life like that. If your eyes feel dry or if they hurt, it's normal and so all these things that we might tell ourselves, no no it is okay. It will be fine. Now, none of that stuff is normal. Just go get the evaluation because a lot of times this stuff can be remedied and rehabbed through and then you have a way better quality of life.
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