Positive Praxis: November 2017

Saturday, November 18, 2017

AHMA Facebook Live Presentation: Our Journey with Migraine and Cluster

Current and former members of the American Headache and Migraine Association met to discuss their journey with migraine and cluster headache.
Our journeys are different, but the results were similar. We kept looking for answers, and refused to give up.
Thank you Jamie Valendy, Michele Vargas, Bob Wold, and Eileen Brewer.

Jill Oglesby Dehlin, RN

I am a nurse, teacher, mom, wife, sister, health educator, and patient advocate. I am also a person who has been disabled by chronic migraine since 2006, but I don't let that define me.

Throughout my career, one of my overarching goals has been to advocate for and empower people to take charge of their health and their lives.

My journey has taken some interesting turns. I became an RN at the age of 19, but returned to school at the age of 35 to become a teacher because it is always what I wanted to do. I earned a bachelor's degree in school health education and a master's degree in health promotion (now called a master's in public health at CMU). I then became an adjunct professor at Central Michigan University where I was encouraged to continue with my education and earn my PhD.

I hit some speed bumps along the way. As my migraine disease progressed, I found it nearly impossible to write my PhD dissertation. The crippling migraine and the medicines I used to combat it had horrible cognitive effects. Because of this, I was stigmatized, patronized, and ostracized. I never gave up, but I ran out of time. I had to give up my dream of becoming a college professor.

I never felt like a failure or a quitter. I never felt as if migraine ruined my life. Don't get me wrong, it was a huge disappointment, but it only changed the trajectory of my life.

It has been my mission to help the public understand what migraine is; to help others with the disease know how to advocate for themselves and others in the community; to improve education about headache disorders in medical and nursing schools; and to have research funding equity for headache disorders to improve understanding of pain disorders so new therapies and medicines can be developed to help people with disabling pain.

Having an invisible disease has taught me a lot about myself and others. I am lucky to have a very supportive husband, family, and friends. Not everyone can say this.

What I CAN say is, don't lose hope. There are plenty of us who have been on this journey. You are not alone.

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Saturday, November 18, 2017

AHMA Facebook Live Presentation: Our Journey with Migraine and Cluster