My medical journey has been long and I have told the story too many times over, so I'm not going to do that again. Basically, all you have to know is that I am a Zipperhead. So, what is a Zipperhead, anyway?
The condition that I have been struggling with started with a birth defect called a Chiari Malformation. Patients with Chiari often need to have repeat surgeries at the base of the skull. I have had four of these so far and fancy myself as a bit of a neurosurgery guru these days. Because of the tendency for them to be opened up again so many times, Chiari patients are often referred to as Zipperheads. The nickname grew on me and I have embraced it as one of my labels. There are also plans to get a tattoo of a zipper in the vicinity of my scar.
The condition that I have now been diagnosed with is called occipital neuralgia. This is a nerve problem that is difficult to deal with. My occipital nerve has had enough and is in a constant state of unhappiness due to the trauma of so many surgeries and procedures. The link at the top of this post can give you more information on this affliction.
One of the unfortunate things that comes with being a Zipperhead is the continuation of medical mysteries. Being 22, it may not seem surprising that I am awake at quarter to one in the morning. Unfortunately, I'm not up partying. I'm not up studying. I'm not up with friends. I'm not up for any reason other than I'm in too much pain to sleep.
Yay for Zipperheads.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
"One pain is less'ned by another's anguish"
So says Mr. William Shakespeare in his iconic Romeo and Juliet.
Schadenfreude is defined as pleasure derived from the misfortune of others. I was not made aware that such a term existed until I became familiar with the Broadway musical Avenue Q. Listening to those lyrics makes it very clear that schadenfreude is something I experience in my every day life. Coming to this realization led me to another one.
I live with unexplained chronic headache pain. For the past five years, my family has been fighting alongside me to try to get some answers and relief. While I suffer from my debilitating pain I am not able to go to school, work more than 12 hours a week, participate in a social life or do anything but sit on my couch with morphine coursing through my veins. Despite how depressing this may sound, I have been able to find enough joy in my life and enough humor in my situation to keep my mother and I giggling in the waiting rooms of doctors' offices.
I love spreading joy. I do not love being in pain. And then I remembered schadenfreude.
The point of this blog will be for me to have an opportunity to vent some of my daily frustrations, share some of my joys and to, hopefully, allow someone, somewhere to gain a sense of pleasure in the fact that they are not experiencing my pain.
Schadenfreude is defined as pleasure derived from the misfortune of others. I was not made aware that such a term existed until I became familiar with the Broadway musical Avenue Q. Listening to those lyrics makes it very clear that schadenfreude is something I experience in my every day life. Coming to this realization led me to another one.
I live with unexplained chronic headache pain. For the past five years, my family has been fighting alongside me to try to get some answers and relief. While I suffer from my debilitating pain I am not able to go to school, work more than 12 hours a week, participate in a social life or do anything but sit on my couch with morphine coursing through my veins. Despite how depressing this may sound, I have been able to find enough joy in my life and enough humor in my situation to keep my mother and I giggling in the waiting rooms of doctors' offices.
I love spreading joy. I do not love being in pain. And then I remembered schadenfreude.
The point of this blog will be for me to have an opportunity to vent some of my daily frustrations, share some of my joys and to, hopefully, allow someone, somewhere to gain a sense of pleasure in the fact that they are not experiencing my pain.
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