Spotlight on: Susana Ontiveros ????
“Hello my name is Susana. I acquired VSS in Sep 2020. I don’t know if it was the stress/anxiety related to the health issues I was going through at the time, but during one visit to a retina specialist I came out having palinopsia. All I could see was trailing of cars, airplanes, & birds. My light sensitivity was through the roof. I was getting after images from everything. I tried to give it time but my symptoms seemed to get worse. I was diagnosed by a Neuro Ophthalmologist who told me I had to learn to “live with it”. I started noticing the static & other abnormalities (blurry vision), couldn’t drive, read anything without my eyes going bonkers, & even had to leave my job. It wasn’t until I came across a VSS warrior who told me about Dr. Tsang in CA who is one of the two leading researchers conducting one of the visual therapy studies for VS & I immediately contacted her. I was not part of the study due to another eye condition, but she took me in & after an intensive assessment she found a multitude of eye dysfunctions that could have been contributing to my VSS.
A year later & all I could say is seeing her was the best thing I could have done. Dr. Tsang gave me a part of my life I never thought I would get back. Before seeing her I had terrible light sensitivity which has now decreased to the point where light from the t.v. & car glares do not burn through my vision like they used to, my static has reduced approx. 60% & only see it when really dark, ghosting also decreased as my visual acuity has gotten stronger, & the after images have reduced by approx. 70% from onset. Am I cured? NO! I have my good days & bad but I am absolutely better than I was when I first got VSS. I can now drive, read papers, my phone, computers without my eyes going bonkers, even able to return to work full time. I am thankful for the treatment & experience Dr. Tsang provided me & would encourage anyone reading this to not give up. There are treatments being worked on & people like Dr. Tsang who are willing to help us out. Wish you all of the best of luck & know we are all in this together.”
