My Shadow & My Honey Bee

I grew up having pets - primarily horses and dogs. They've always been a source of comfort, love, and laughter. Since my car accident, there have been two dogs that have really helped me a lot with living life with chronic pain.

Shadow
© 2012 Jamie V.

Shadow

When I had to move back in with my parents, following my car accident in October 2008, I found great comfort in their dogs. One of their dogs, Shadow, became my personal shadow. She followed me around the house to make sure I was okay; and if I was gone "too long," she would come looking for me. She cuddled with me. She protected me. She was perceptive to my needs. She listened to me and sat with me as I cried, trying to grieve the life that I had before the accident. She helped me through some of my darkest times, and I'm so very grateful for that.

When I moved to Tulsa to go to graduate school (about 8 months after my accident), I tried to explain to her that I'd be gone for a few weeks, but that I'd be back. But, she wasn't too happy with it. She shunned me for a few hours, whenever I would come home for the weekend or something.

Now, Shadow is getting older and has injured herself so much that it's hard for her to get up and move around too much. I always try to spend some time with her, when I visit my parents' house. There's no way that I can show her how much she's meant to me over the years, but I'll continue to love on her every time I see her loving face.

Honey Bee
© 2012 Jamie V.

Honey Bee

This summer (July 2012), my husband and I adopted a dog, Honey Bee. She has brought us so much joy and comfort over the past 5 months.

When we adopted her, I was actually in the midst of a horrendous status migraine that lead me to the ER just a few days after we got her, and then to an emergency visit the following week. I wasn't able to spend much time with her - I was at a point where I was so sensitive to anything even touching or being near me. But, she's such a sweetheart, and our relationship is only just beginning.

She's had a difficult past, but she's in such a loving home now. She's actually more responsive to Jeremy, which can be heartbreaking sometimes. She's home with me every day, but I don't feel that she's very perceptive of me. But, I find joy in seeing her and my husband play and spend time together... I find joy in their joy.

Honey  Bee
© 2012 Jamie V.

Honey is a very quiet dog by nature. She mostly minds her own business. She'll snuggle, play, and has been showing more and more of her silly self. She's such a beautiful girl, and her soft, sensitive eyes show such a lovely soul. Her fur is so very soft, and she loves being pet. She reminds me that great things can come from difficult times - she was hit by a car a year and a half ago, and had to have her back right leg amputated... but that hasn't slowed her down in the least!

I do my best to play with her, take her for walks, and train her. She may not always want to snuggle, but neither do I - we each like our space sometimes.

Honey has been such a peaceful and calming presence, and I know she shows her love in the ways that she knows.

Pets have such power to change our moods, help keep life in perspective, and feel unconditionally loved. When I see Honey so excited over something little (like when we get home from a short grocery visit, we give her a new toy, we feed her dinner, etc), it makes me smile. Her kisses are healing. And, I know that I can face the hardships in my life and come out on top.

Last Call: December 2012 Headache & Migraine Carnival

Tomorrow, Friday, December 7, 2012, at midnight, is the deadline for submissions to the December Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival.

The December theme is:

"Pets as Therapy: How our pets help us cope with our migraine and headache disorders." 

As always, posts on any topic related to migraine disease or other headache disorders are also welcome.

Please include the following information with your submission:

(1) Your name as you would like it to appear in the carnival.
(2) The title of the blog post you're submitting.
(3) The url of the blog post you're submitting.
(4) The title of your blog.
(5) The url of your blog.

The December Carnival will be published on Monday, December 10, 2012, here at Chronic Migraine Warrior.

Please email your submission to Diana at somebodyhealme@gmail.com (and she'll forward them to me).

For more information about the carnival visit the overview page here: http://bit.ly/migrainecarnival.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Ten Years Without a Tree

© 2012 Jamie V.

In a very welcome break in the full-blown migraine pain, my husband and I managed to get some Christmas stuff up around the apartment.

We put up our Christmas tree (that my sister so kindly gave us before she and her husband moved). It's not all that large, but it works for us right now.

"Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall" (Larry Wilde, author 'The Merry Book of Christmas')

As I looked at our tree, I realized that I haven't had a Christmas tree up in my own home in nearly TEN years! My parents always have a Christmas tree up at their house, but I haven't had one up in the apartments that I've lived in (thinking about it now, my roommate might have had one up one year... but that would've been about six years ago).

So, I'm very much enjoying having a Christmas tree up in our home. There are no ornaments on it right now, but we do have an angel (seems a bit too large for the tree, but it's our angel and it's staying up - lol). I still have a way to go before I get all the Christmas decor up, but I'm definitely enjoying the season thus far.

"It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air" (W. T. Ellis)

Migraine, Migraine, Go Away... Please!

I'm feeling pretty down right now. I've been struggling with migraine(s) that have been nearly non-stop for 5-7 days... it's hard to tell when one stops and another begins. I called my headache doctor today (so as not to get stuck over the weekend), and I feel like he just brushed me off - I was told that he doesn't have anything else to try and to go to the ER if it persists or worsens.

I've gone into this doctor for emergency care several times before (same meds they might give me at ER, but in a much more migraine-friendly environment, with my own doctor, and a third of the cost).

These words came crashing down on me... so disheartening, especially while I've been trying to fight this one off all day without meds because I've maxed out for the week. I can take more of my meds tomorrow - and, if I'm feeling this badly then, I'll be taking the higher dosage (an option my doctor has left to my discretion)... which should lead to sleep, and hopefully relief. Otherwise, I guess I might be going to the ER.

Unexpected Blessings

Being a patient has changed me in so many ways. Through all of this, I'm learning to be more attentive about my body and what it's telling me, and I'm learning how to ask for and accept help from others. There are so many lessons that living with chronic pain can teach you... even though you sometimes end up learning them the hard way, kicking and screaming.

But, there are also unexpected blessings that come along throughout life's journey. I've written about unexpected blessings of living with chronic pain before. In my post, Pain & Gratitude, I share a list of things I like about being sick... things in my journey with chronic pain that I'm grateful for. It can be difficult to feel gratitude when we've lost so much, but our God will bless us in unexpected ways... we just need to be open to receiving these blessings.

This post was written as part of the National Health Blog Posting Month (NHBPM). Other bloggers will share their posts on this FB page.

Holiday Update & Triggers

Well, I've clearly not kept up with this month's blogging challenge. :-/ I am trying to get several posts finished up, so I can publish them here soon - it's just taking me longer to do anything right now.

I've been dealing with some migraine triggers - some controllable (time with family), some not (weather), and some in-between (sleep). I think I did well avoiding food / drink triggers, even over the holidays.

Weather - The weather has been a crazy roller coaster, and the frequent temperature drops have been difficult for my head pain.

Sleep - I've been having a different kind of struggle with sleep lately. Sometimes I wake up early and can't get back to sleep, and sometimes I sleep into the afternoon. Sometimes I'm up late, and sometimes I can hardly make it through the evening awake. This past weekend, for example, I slept a lot. Sunday, I was only awake for about 8 of the 24 hours, and I still felt so tired.

Family - No doubt, I've pushed myself quite a lot over the past few weeks, and I've been paying the price for doing so. But, I'm grateful for getting to visit with my sister (who was in town for a week), and my family (immediate and extended).

I've been trying my best to stay in the present moment, and to enjoy and be grateful for the time I have been able to spend time with loved ones.

This post was written as part of the National Health Blog Posting Month (NHBPM). Other bloggers will share their posts on this FB page.