Migraine Awareness Month Blogging Challenge #27: “In my Head and Heart” — Who inspires you to keep trying and not give up, despite your migraines?
Not giving up can be interpreted in multiple ways, from trying new treatments to continuing to engage with the world to not committing suicide. The stories I read online of people who find effective treatments after years of unsuccessful attempts keep me trying new treatments. You, dear reader, inspire me to continue writing and sharing my stories about living with chronic migraine. My wonderful husband Hart and my niece Michelle are the two people who keep me from giving up in the broader sense.
Hart encourages me in the day-to-day struggle of chronic migraine, making sure that I eat and laugh. He holds me when I wail that I want out and talks me through the frequent emotional and physical agony. He gives me strength every single day and I’m not sure I’d be here without him. He also makes excellent popcorn.
Although I have two nieces and two nephews who inspire me, my 15-year-old niece Michelle has a special place in my migraine world because she, too, has migraine and has had chronic daily headache since she was 11. Since she was very young, our similarities in appearance and personality have been obvious. I am honored to have those traits in common, but was devastated to learn we also share headache disorders. I cannot give up my fight to live well despite chronic migraine and chronic daily headache because I refuse to show Michelle that giving up is an option.
I don’t know what my niece’s path with migraine and headache will look like, but I will be here to guide her. I will not only tell her, but will also show her that the daily struggle is beautiful and worthwhile. I will also continue to advocate to advance the scientific knowledge and treatment of migraine and headache disorders. She is worth it. I am worth it, too.
Who inspires you?
National Migraine Awareness Month is initiated by the National Headache Foundation. The Blogger’s Challenge is initiated by Fighting Headache Disorders.
My daughter, who is 5 years old now, has had episodic migraines since she was about a year old. They occur about once a week now. She is my inspiration in this daily fight. It is heartbreaking to see such a young child in so much pain that she vomits repeatedly. We hope she will grow out of it.
After we get home from work and daycare, I usually lay on the couch with an ice pack on my head and all the lights off in the house. She and my son (who is 2 years old) are so very sweet to me and take care of me when it should be the other way around. They make sure I have a blanket and if I haven’t gotten my ice pack, Hailey will run to the freezer and offer me frozen vegtables if she cannot find a pack. They sit with me for a while, usually rubbing my head and back. The first thing my daughter asks me when I pick her up from daycare is “mama, do you have a headache?” I can’t wait for the day when the answer is no. Until then, I will continue to fight and push through the pain because I have to…for them.
Thanks for sharing, Leslie. I wish you and your daughter the best of luck in finding treatment.
Kerrie