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Warrior of the Week

These inspiring individuals with Visual Snow Syndrome are sharing their experiences living with this condition and how they try their best to overcome its symptoms everyday.

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Visual Snow Warrior of the Week – Austin John Doody

Spotlight on: Austin John Doody ???? @austin_john_

“I’m a 30 year old musician living in Nashville, TN. I’ve had Visual Snow for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, the symptoms were very mild. I thought everyone saw the way I did. I had static in my vision and had a hard time looking at anything with patterns.

Over the years I’ve noticed my Visual Snow has become worse and worse. Around December 2020, I contracted Covid-19 and a month later my condition worsened severely. I now noticed I had every symptom of Visual Snow and the non-visual symptoms. My life changed dramatically. My palinopsia and ghosting is so bad today that I have a hard time focusing throughout the day, my ears ring constantly, I usually have a migraine at least once a day, the static is very pronounced, have extreme after images, have sensitivity to any kind of light, have night blindness, have vertigo and excessive entoptic phenomena. Derealization has been the latest symptom I’ve been trying to cope with.

Currently, I’m trying to deal with all of these symptoms of Visual Snow everyday. I can only hope my symptoms don’t worsen anymore than they already have. I’m not sure if Covid-19 made my Visual Snow worse or if it was completely coincidental. Like most other Visual Snow sufferers, I’ve been to many doctors who were unsure exactly what was wrong with me, as most are unaware of Visual Snow and my tests come back normal. I recently found a doctor in Nashville who diagnosed me with Visual Snow. It was a relief to finally put a name to the condition that I have.

Even through all of this, I’m still optimistic that a cure will be found someday. Some days are better than others, but I continuously try to stay positive and know that I’m not alone in this fight. A positive attitude can really make a difference day to day I believe. I’m thankful for the Visual Snow Initiative and all the research they’re doing. Let’s find a cure!”

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