Of Marriage and Migraines
12 years ago today I stood beside the man I loved and promised for better or worse.
In sickness and health, we agreed.
Til death do us part.
Every year we seem to gain added depth of relationship and insight.
The big milestones like having children revealed a set of qualities I did not know my man had.
The amazing love, desire to teach, and true enjoyment he had in just being with our children was astonishing to discover.
The not-so-big things were marked by the realization that we like doing life together.
And it was a true mark of maturity when we no longer totally dread those "conversations" that started with a bang and ended with honesty and clarity.
This year I saw yet a different side to my man.
Pardon the melodrama that is about to ensue but here is my account of my first experience with a migraine and all the crazy symptoms that encompassed that experience and how my man showed me yet another layer of who he is.
(Consider it a PSA of sorts (Public Service Announcement) on migraines. :))
Thursday morning I woke feeling normal.
Showered, got the kids ready for school, one on the bus, said good-bye to the in-laws (who we live with) and sat down with BigBoy #2.
I realized I couldn't see well.
It was like a big water droplet had landed in the same spot on each of my eyes and caused a prism-like effect that made it impossible to focus.
Fast forward 10 minutes to my phone call with the triage nurse.
Could it be an aura?
Maybe, but I've never had a migraine.
Did you hit your head?
No.
Get anything in your eye?
No, it's happening to both of my eyes.
And so forth.
Appointment made for 1 hour from then with the nurse reminding me that I can go to the ED at anytime if I start having worsening symptoms.
About this time I start struggling to think.
I can't finish a sentence or get a complete thought to process.
I call my friend Shannon who offers to drive me to the doctor and watch the kids since hubby had worked all night and only just went to bed.
Enter, tingling right hand.
Now I'm freaked.
I can't see, I can't think, and my hand is going numb and tingly.
If I had been thinking clearly I would've guessed I was having a stroke.
I called my dear friend Ang who went to nursing school with me.
Asked her if I should wake Bri (because by this time I couldn't figure anything out).
She said yes, go wake him right now.
Uffda, my heart starts racing just thinking about it!
Mind you, I still don't have a headache.
I wake Bri who has slept 30 minutes in the past 24 hours.
I'm crying, trying to explain in my perfectly unintellible way what is going on and why I woke him.
He pulls me into his arms, and prays.
Prays against the pain and the worry and the uncertainty.
He bound Satan's hand in Jesus name and prayed protection over our present and future.
Jumping out of bed he quickly got ready, the kids in the van and us on the road with me still trying to figure out what my problem is and how this is going to turn out.
Shannon takes the kids, we decide (who am I kiddin, BRI decides) that it's time for the Emergency Department.
On the way in, my left hand goes numb and I lose strength.
I start crying.
The admitting lady takes one look at me and I'm whisked back into the ED.
No waiting for this hysterical woman!
BP elevated, heart racing, still not thinking or seeing clearly.
ED Doc goes over all the possilities: panic attack, brain bleed, meningitis, whacky thyroid, migraine.
Headache is starting to set in, along with a stiff neck.
Bloodwork, CT scan, morhpine, zofran, IV attempts, lumbar puncture.
All the while, my husband of nearly 12 years sits by my side, holding my hand, feeling probably as yucky as I did given his exhaustion, and offering me encouragement and strength.
I saw in those hours care and compassion that I have only ever seen a few other times in our life together (namely childbearing).
He was there to fight for me, explain me, think for me, care for me and love me as only that man can.
In God's goodness, it was "just" a migraine that presented in a crazy array of neurological symptoms.
As we looked into migraines a little more we found that it isn't totally unusual to have any of those symptoms, but they sure are scary the first time they happen.
I'll be a bit more prepared if something similar ever comes a knockin'.
And I'll have my man beside me to help fight my way through it!
Happy 12th Anniversary to the best caretaker and provider this woman could've ever asked for!
I love you!
In sickness and health, we agreed.
Til death do us part.
Every year we seem to gain added depth of relationship and insight.
The big milestones like having children revealed a set of qualities I did not know my man had.
The amazing love, desire to teach, and true enjoyment he had in just being with our children was astonishing to discover.
The not-so-big things were marked by the realization that we like doing life together.
And it was a true mark of maturity when we no longer totally dread those "conversations" that started with a bang and ended with honesty and clarity.
This year I saw yet a different side to my man.
Pardon the melodrama that is about to ensue but here is my account of my first experience with a migraine and all the crazy symptoms that encompassed that experience and how my man showed me yet another layer of who he is.
(Consider it a PSA of sorts (Public Service Announcement) on migraines. :))
Thursday morning I woke feeling normal.
Showered, got the kids ready for school, one on the bus, said good-bye to the in-laws (who we live with) and sat down with BigBoy #2.
I realized I couldn't see well.
It was like a big water droplet had landed in the same spot on each of my eyes and caused a prism-like effect that made it impossible to focus.
Fast forward 10 minutes to my phone call with the triage nurse.
Could it be an aura?
Maybe, but I've never had a migraine.
Did you hit your head?
No.
Get anything in your eye?
No, it's happening to both of my eyes.
And so forth.
Appointment made for 1 hour from then with the nurse reminding me that I can go to the ED at anytime if I start having worsening symptoms.
About this time I start struggling to think.
I can't finish a sentence or get a complete thought to process.
I call my friend Shannon who offers to drive me to the doctor and watch the kids since hubby had worked all night and only just went to bed.
Enter, tingling right hand.
Now I'm freaked.
I can't see, I can't think, and my hand is going numb and tingly.
If I had been thinking clearly I would've guessed I was having a stroke.
I called my dear friend Ang who went to nursing school with me.
Asked her if I should wake Bri (because by this time I couldn't figure anything out).
She said yes, go wake him right now.
Uffda, my heart starts racing just thinking about it!
Mind you, I still don't have a headache.
I wake Bri who has slept 30 minutes in the past 24 hours.
I'm crying, trying to explain in my perfectly unintellible way what is going on and why I woke him.
He pulls me into his arms, and prays.
Prays against the pain and the worry and the uncertainty.
He bound Satan's hand in Jesus name and prayed protection over our present and future.
Jumping out of bed he quickly got ready, the kids in the van and us on the road with me still trying to figure out what my problem is and how this is going to turn out.
Shannon takes the kids, we decide (who am I kiddin, BRI decides) that it's time for the Emergency Department.
On the way in, my left hand goes numb and I lose strength.
I start crying.
The admitting lady takes one look at me and I'm whisked back into the ED.
No waiting for this hysterical woman!
BP elevated, heart racing, still not thinking or seeing clearly.
ED Doc goes over all the possilities: panic attack, brain bleed, meningitis, whacky thyroid, migraine.
Headache is starting to set in, along with a stiff neck.
Bloodwork, CT scan, morhpine, zofran, IV attempts, lumbar puncture.
All the while, my husband of nearly 12 years sits by my side, holding my hand, feeling probably as yucky as I did given his exhaustion, and offering me encouragement and strength.
I saw in those hours care and compassion that I have only ever seen a few other times in our life together (namely childbearing).
He was there to fight for me, explain me, think for me, care for me and love me as only that man can.
In God's goodness, it was "just" a migraine that presented in a crazy array of neurological symptoms.
As we looked into migraines a little more we found that it isn't totally unusual to have any of those symptoms, but they sure are scary the first time they happen.
I'll be a bit more prepared if something similar ever comes a knockin'.
And I'll have my man beside me to help fight my way through it!
Happy 12th Anniversary to the best caretaker and provider this woman could've ever asked for!
I love you!
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