Simply Rins Turns 2 ... and Conquering My Amblyopia

It is November 1 in my timezone and it means that Nail Art Designs by Simply Rins is already 2 years old! Happy 2nd year anniversary to my nail art blog!

Time do flies when you're having fun! I can't believe this blog is on its second year! To friends who might not know, I started this as a personal blog on 2009. It was only during the 2nd quarter of 2010 that I decided to devote this online space to my nail art designs. I have always been fascinated with nail painting since I graduated from college. But it was only last year that I challenged myself to paint my own nails. I have tried several methods and I realized that I am most happy and satisfied with freehand nail painting. I continue to embrace that challenge to date.

On its 2nd year, I made more friends! This blog also paved way to several opportunities such as television and newspaper features that shared my nail art designs. It is such an amazing experience to be accepted by fellow nail art enthusiasts in the blogsphere and be publicly recognized.

The growth of Simply Rins did not go as smoothly as I expected. There were crossroads. My principles were put to a test and my personal life was in shambles. I almost made a silly mistake to stop blogging! But I find solace whenever I paint my nails and I am not about to give that up. Yay, that sounded a little corny. Bottomline is, I want to share my ideas and inspire those that have the same interest in this craft.

Last August, I was forced to face an uncertainty that scared me. Let me take you back 10 years ago. I underwent cataract removal surgery on my left eye. At a very young age, it surprised me and my family when we found out I had cataract. It was small and can be deemed negligible. Unfortunately, it was found almost at the center of my eye, where the light passes through. I decided to have it removed.

The operation was quick and successful. The cataract was removed and I had a new artificial lens on my left eye. But surprisingly, my eyesight didn't improve as expected. So I underwent a laser procedure in an attempt to correct my blurry vision on my left eye. Alas, after several treatments, I was diagnosed to have amblyopia.

It is not alarming, really. Amblyopia or most commonly known as lazy eye is not actually an eye defect. Simply put, my brain refuses to use my left eye. Why? Apparently, I was born with cataract or had developed a cataract before I became a teenager. And because the cataract decided to be the center of attraction on my left eye, my developing brain recognized my left eye as defective and decided not to use it.

Is it curable? Yes it is when detected before a person reaches 13 years old. Sadly, I was already an adult when I was diagnosed and my brain has fully developed. It would take a tremendous amount of effort on my part to train my brain to use my left eye by patching my right. I didn't take that option. The chances were miniscule.

My doctor said that my amblyopia should not hinder me from doing the things I normally do, like driving and drawing since I learned these with my lazy eye. I have adapted to my condition and learned accordingly. After I was diagnosed, I began to take pride on my right eye. I felt it was bionic. I was technically using only my right eye for my entire life and there's NOTHING wrong with it! It has a 20/20 vision!

One of the consequences of having a lazy eye is an altered depth perception or the inability to judge whether something is close or far. This makes it harder for me to work with details. This is also the reason why I draw with my head bent really close to the table.

Okay, so where were we? Ah, so last August my right eye started to twitch continuously for 3 weeks. I was also having a harder time focusing. That scared me beyond compare. I didn't want anything bad to happen to my right eye. It was all I got left and I was dependent on it to keep doing my art. For weeks, I refused to see my opthalmologist. But after 3 weeks, I dragged myself to the hospital to have my eyes checked.

In less than 30 minutes, my doctor found nothing wrong with my left eye. I just had myokimia or involuntary muscle twitches. Basically, my right eye is overworked. Yikes! But I still had focusing problems and eye strains when working with details. Yes, I told my doctor I chose to work with a very small canvas -- my nails.

To help me, he prescribed to have me wear bifocals eyeglasses. Basically, it lessens eye strain because it reduces the amount of focusing effort the eye needs to clearly see near objects. I got my glasses ... in pink (I wanted it in red but there wasn't any) ... early last month and I have been using it ever since whenever I work on my nail art. It does its job perfectly.

By far, my eye problem has been my biggest challenge this year for my nail art blog. But everything turned out well and my pink glasses are now my best friend when I paint my nails.

I'm sorry if I'm celebrating my blog's 2nd year with a long personal post. My amblyopia may have tried to put me down with my cartooning and nail art painting, but I really don't want to let it win. And I'd like to share this feat with all of you, who supports and believes in what I can do.

Thank you for being part of Simply Rins! :)



P.S. I'm sorry for not having a nail art post to go with the celebration. I am currently resting my natural nails and my eyes. I sort of abused it last month with the non-stop Halloween nail art ideas and some projects. New nail designs will be posted in a few days. :)





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