Meet our #WarriorOfTheWeek, Sonnet! ????
Spotlight on: Sonnet Prieto
Hi, my name is Sonnet! @sonnetjprieto
I am a recent NYU graduate living in LA to pursue my dream of working in music & film/television. I have lived with VSS my entire life, but was not officially diagnosed until last year, as I was not aware that such a condition existed. I vividly recall my younger self asking those around me if they too had “pixelated vision” & night blindness; I have also suffered with severe migraines ever since I can remember. I have seen some of the top eye specialists & neurologists in the world, yet they found nothing wrong in the tests they conducted as I was physiologically sound.
Over the years, I tried countless treatments/medications for the migraines, but nothing ever truly worked (AJOVY has helped mitigate the pain, though)—I just learned how to cope & continue on with my life as usual. Around the start of the pandemic, however, I randomly began to notice new & more extreme symptoms: a severe influx of eye floaters, photophobia, palinopsia, fatigue, vertigo, & a blurriness/loss of contrast in one eye. As a result, my already-poor mental health took a turn for the worse. I felt isolated from friends and family, as they did not understand what I was going through. I was falling behind in school, spending countless days visiting doctors & countless nights sleeping on the bathroom floor, sick with intolerable pain & no answers.
As scary as these new symptoms were, though, researching them is what ultimately led me to discover VSS. Along my journey, I’ve come to learn that everything that happens to us, happens to us twice: inside & out. I strongly believe that stress/unresolved trauma/negative energy can take on a myriad of physical forms. It is critical to turn inward reflect what this particular period of your life requires of you. Surround yourself with people that respect & embrace you in ways that only make you feel worthy, accepted, & loved. Your body is a temple—treat it as such (be mindful of what foods you eat, get enough sleep, exercise, etc.). To all those struggling: I hear you, I see you, & your experience is valid. Never stop advocating for yourself & your health—you are worth every bit of positivity & happiness.
