An Apology

When a chronic condition gets in the way of life

Hi friends. I’m stopping by with a brief apology for missing my scheduled posting time last weekend.

I wish I could say that I had an exciting reason for doing so. Then, I could share some great news with you. But the truth is that I had one of the worst migraines I’ve had in the 13 years of having this condition.

When you have a chronic condition, you generally learn to work through the symptoms (in this case, excruciating pain or light/sound sensitivity). Most of my friends and family understand my condition and that it might limit what I can do, but I still try to do things. I’ve worked through many migraines over the years.

Of course, every now and then, I’ll get one so bad that it knocks me off-kilter. And my last migraine was one such monster. It started somewhat normal. Friday afternoon, while at work, it came on. I shut off the orange-tinted lamp that sits on my desk, and I worked in near-darkness for the remainder of the afternoon. Then, I went home and took it easy.

When I woke up on Saturday, I felt better, so I went about my day with the belief I had shaken it. But the thing with migraines is that they can be just like a rollercoaster. Friday was the slow ascent at the start of the ride, and Saturday morning was the first dip, where everything seems fine. But as the day went on, I wound up riding through a series of loop-de-loops and spirals. I wound up on my couch with my cold cap on my head, my heating pad on my neck and shoulders, fighting back a waves of nausea and dizziness. I couldn’t wear my glasses as they weighed a hundred pounds. Even in the darkened living room, the light from the TV was sometimes too much to bear. The last thing I could do was string two sentences together.

I wish I could say that the migraine wrapped itself up on Sunday, but no. Chronic migraines like to hang around like a houseguest who has overstayed their welcome. My migraine lasted until early Tuesday. I then spent that day in the fog that is a migraine hangover. Thoughts were hard, and I was so darn sleepy, despite all the sleep I had over the long, painful weekend.

Now that I’m recovered, I just wanted to reach out and let you all know that I haven’t forgotten about you. I will get back to my regularly scheduled posts about writing and my publication process next week. I already have a great idea for what to share with you all.

Thank you all for sticking with me, even when things go wrong. I appreciate you all.