Jun 22, 2012

Memories... Old & New

Father's Day Weekend 2012 was a time to relive old memories and to make new ones as a family. 

David and I spent much of our early years chasing trains.   Photographing trains.  Riding Trains.  Not just any train mind you, steam trains!

Saturday we drove up to Salisbury, NC to see Southern Railways 630 and to photograph it.  This was the first steam engine to run since 1994.  The kids were born in 1996 and 1998 so they had never seen a steam engine in operation.  (Other than Tweetsie and Strasburg)

I was surprised to find my heart beating faster when I first heard the approaching train,  the memories it brought back are so precious and now my children are gathering memories. 

Here are some of my favorite shots from the day.

By Daniel
This was shot from inside the car the kids rode in prior to pulling out of the station.





By Sarah




By me



Fellow train chaser taking her shots

Sarah in the window, Daniel is peeking out behind her

I don't stick to only trains!



The thorns on this were incredible.





Migraine Awareness Month

June is Migraine Awareness Month.  The ribbon color is purple.  So my blog will be in purple from now on.  As I go through this journey, I want to be able to help shed light on this mystifiying disease.  The cause is unknown and there is no cure.  It is NOT just a headache.  It can be and is debillitating for many. 

Some good websites:
Teri Robert
migraine.com/blog/
help for headaches
migraine disease
migraine cast
health central, migraine
putting our heads together



Seeing a Migraine Specialist

I started seeing a migraine headache specialist in Greensboro, NC on May 31. The first evaluation was very thorough, including an EKG, range of motion measurements on my neck, several vials of blood drawn for testing. The doctor was very kind and understanding. Able to explain more about my condition. Migraine Disease is not curable. The cause is not known though research is being done to find a gene that causes it. She went over all my meds and immediately made changes to not only meds but to my diet as well.

Tuesday, June 18,  I received the first set of trigger point injections to try to ease my migraines that are almost 24/7. Out of the past 28 days I have not been headache free for more than a few hours at a time.

As of today, Friday, June 22, I had a whole 6 hours or so free of headache.  I am doing everything I'm told to do.  But the headaches are getting worse.  There is no break in them and I am struggling to stay positive.  The past 2 days my eyes are so blurry and watery that I can't drive safely at all.   I can only focus to read for a few minutes at a time and then I have to change activities to give my eyes a rest.  Obviously the injections did not work long-term.  

I'm starting to loose hope.  I say I accept His will for my life, even including the headaches, but I'm struggling. 

It's hard to have a chronic illness like this.  A lot of people don't view it as serious.  Maybe it's not life-threatening, but it is life-altering.  And right now I'm having trouble seeing the good in this.