Zebrallusions

by Connie VanPatten
(Albany, NY)

the movement of my visual migraines

My migraines are either intense headaches or visual disturbances, which never occur together. During the visual migraines, I typically think I am having a stroke, then I calm down using self talk "it's only a migraine" and begin to enjoy the ride of kaleidescope images. It is annoying however,when they occur at work while I am conducting a therapy session and I look at the patient through my distorted vision. I want to apologize and shout "I am not really with you on this, I am in my own little world for the next 20 minutes or so...or while I am driving and I must pull over to the side of the road, otherwise, I have learned to accept them.
I drew Zebrallusions with colored pencils, which began as a solitary zebra. Obviously I have added some bizarre computer graphics to duplicate the image in order to illustrate my migraines.While the visuals I experience never actually form a distinct image, the effects Zebrallusions present come pretty close to illustrating the movement of the visuals in my migraines.