A few years ago, a close friend had a stroke at the age of 30. My once fiercely independent and career-driven friend suddenly had to start over from the basics. The most jarring change was losing vision in the upper right quadrant of their visual field, which made orienting to the world around them feel strange and made reading particularly difficult. None of the prescribed therapies were concerned with addressing this; the only available option I found was an out-of-state clinical trial, but stroke patients are not allowed to fly during the initial recovery period. Knowing that there is a critical window of neuroplasticity after a stroke, I decided to create visual field rehabilitation exercises myself.

As I researched, I found quite a bit of overlap with the experiments I had done in my PhD, which involved a subject fixating on a point with their eyes and discriminating stimuli in the periphery. I had recently learned tools like python and JMP, which enabled me to prototype quickly. We began a routine where my friend would do the exercises daily, and I would analyze and send back the results and modify the program accordingly. I also developed simple hand-eye coordination reaching exercises that their family members could help with when I wasn’t there. Perhaps the most important impact of the endeavor was helping my friend to gain confidence in their own ability to take control of their recovery.