Meet our next #WarriorOfTheWeek and hear how Lucia learned to adapt to having #VisualSnow while her fighter mentality encouraged her to never give up. ?❤️
Spotlight on: Lucia Spaans ✨
“My name is Lucia, I’m 26 years old and I’m from the Netherlands. I was born with this super rare eye condition, that’s called ‘Morning Glory Syndrome’. It never really bothered me growing up, but suddenly during my early twenties, I got some complications that required me to be in and out of the hospital, and I had many (and I really mean mány) scans and doctors seeing me. This was also the time I started to notice that I was seeing a lot of sparks in my sight and floaters everywhere. On top of that, I developed severe tinnitus. This was a very difficult time for me, because I was always feeling sick. All of that resulted in anxiety, which is actually not uncommon for people who have Visual Snow. When my anxiety was the highest, I would have a panic attack 2 or 3 times every hour. When I would ask my eye doctors about the sparks I was seeing everywhere, the floaters, the tinnitus etc., they would all refer me to a psychologist. Thanks to Google, I had already ‘diagnosed myself’ with Visual Snow, so I knew it wasn’t a mental issue. About 3 years and many doctors later (I was not going to give up!), I was finally referred to a neurologist in Amsterdam who actually knew what Visual Snow was. He officially diagnosed me… such a relieve (even though I’m now officially diagnosed with 2 rare conditions, ha!).
When my Visual Snow just started, I remember going to the beach, something I always loved to do, and being overwhelmed with sadness, thinking ‘I can’t ever look at the sea anymore and enjoy it, because the snow is everywhere’. This was more than 3 years ago, and I am enjoying the sea in summer as much as I can. For some reason, I simply learned to adapt to Visual Snow, and (with some help from my sunglasses) it doesn’t bother me anymore. My mentality has always been that of a fighter and I refuse to give up or not doing what I want in life, because of my health issues. I am currently a business owner and doing great! To my fellow Visual Snow people, I would like to tell you that it can get better and life can be great again. Hang in there! “
