I’m a designer. I really, really need my sight.

Even before I chose such a visually dependent career, my worst fear was always losing my sense of sight. Take my sense of smell. Make me go bald. I’ll even loose a leg before I would want to lose my eyesight.

This is one of the reasons I hate having migraines. These bad boys come about two or three times a year, and I was just lucky enough to have one this week. My symptoms are always the same, so I thought I would treat you all to a visual representation of what I experience.

First up are blind spots. One minute I’m watching TV, the next, I’m watching half of a TV. Anything I focus on disappears in the bottom right corner, like magic. Gone.

A few minutes later, tunnel vision sets in. Not only is the bottom right of my vision gone, but now my peripherals are closing in.

And a few short minutes after that, I will get those signature auroras. A long, shimmering strip of light, cutting through my eyes. I can’t see anything through it, and it’s still there when I close my eyes.

By now, I better have gotten some pain meds, water and a sandwich, because it’s at this point that the headache pounding against my eyes and forehead appears, and I get pushed to the point of extreme nausea.

Now it’s time to lie down, and attempt to sleep it off (even though every pillow suddenly feels like a rock) and pray that in 12 to 24 hours, the world will be right again.