Spotlight on: Mackenzie Forrester ???? @Muva.Mack
“Hi Everyone! I’m Mackenzie, a mother of three & recent college graduate! I’ve had visual snow from around 15 years old, and I’m now 28.
This year I was finally diagnosed after years of not realizing my vision is not like most. I have terrible vision, so I’ve always worn very thick glasses & as a teenager, I started having static tv floaters. I headed to my optometrist & they said nothing was wrong, so I figured everything was fine.
Every other year when I’d get a new prescription, they’d tell me my symptoms (night blindness, afterimages, bright flashes at night, the constant static, blurry vision, tinnitus, and daily migraines in my neck) were normal. “Everyone gets floaters.”
I let it go & assumed everyone saw as I did. After my second child in my mid-20s, when I was staring up at a blue sky & talking to a friend about how the sky was swirling, they remarked that’s not what they see & not what anyone sees. I realized maybe there was something else going on, but instead of in my eyes, in my brain. From that point on, I sought out answers.
Finally, this year I was diagnosed with Visual Snow Syndrome after a meeting with a new optometrist & a neurologist. I finally feel fortunate to have a diagnosis finally & am so grateful that VSS doesn’t cause blindness, but I will say it sometimes gives me anxiety that I will always have the symptoms that come with it. I am grateful I didn’t realize something was wrong for so long. It gave me a lot of time to adjust to this reality & find ways to cope. I am beyond optimistic that one day I will come across a doctor with a plan to help me. I am also so excited there is research going into VSS!
I’m grateful for the Visual Snow Initiative to have the opportunity to connect with other people with VS & connect some of the other mental health things I struggle with to my VSS. I would’ve never thought they were related until finding this page! VSS isn’t ideal, but it can not stop me from living a wonderfully full life! I am a warrior & so are you!”
