A Life With Trigeminal Neuralgia
I’m often told that “I don’t look sick” or that “I look pretty good for someone whose in pain”. Unless you pay close attention, you wouldn’t notice my face wince or me holding my breath until the stabs in my face stop. On one hand, sometimes being invisible is easier. I know that when I […]
When I was 10, I would try to imagine what my life would look like as an adult. It excited me to think about all the opportunities and responsibilities I would soon get to experience. Growing up couldn’t come soon enough. When I was 13, I thought I was invincible. I thought that through […]
About a month ago, I decided that I wanted to do a series on how chronic illness affects relationships. Throughout the years, I’ve seen how Trigeminal Neuralgia has created, disbanded, and altered the personal connections I pursue. Between family, friends, romantic relationships, the public, and even our relationship with our own bodies and minds, there’s […]
There’s a phrase that’s tossed around the chronic illness community and it’s something I think about a lot. “Don’t let your illness define you.” Perhaps because I share my story quite often and quite graphically, I’ve had many people tell me that I’m obsessed with my illness. While I don’t think obsessed is the right […]
I’ve got to say, it definitely doesn’t feel like it’s been 3 months since the “Great Head Snip of 2019”. On one hand, it feels like it’s been much longer; I often reflect on how much I’ve accomplished since surgery and it generates this allusion that the surgery happened many months ago. On the other […]
Hi Everyone! I wanted to do an update, as I was just at the neurologist yesterday AND because we are nearing the 2 month post-op milestone. I thought about waiting until Monday (the actual 2 month mark), but we are moving out on Sunday and I didn’t think I would have much time then. So […]
Well, it’s been exactly one month since brain surgery! I’ve been getting lots of questions and requests to do an update and I think that this is an appropriate day to do one. To get right to it, things have been up and down. I definitely didn’t expect my healing to be linear, but I […]
On July 13th, I will have been living with Trigeminal Neuralgia for 6 years. For some reason, it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. You see, when you live with a chronic illness, it’s vital that you take things day by day… and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing; fighting against my own body every […]
So my life has been kind of wild lately! I’ve spent the last week trying to assemble some sort of a formal blog, but I just don’t have the focus or stamina at the moment. I guess I haven’t fully processed everything that’s gone on, so it’s hard to put everything into words. I made […]
Trigeminal Neuralgia is invisible to the vast majority of people. It’s only when you look closely that you see our distant stares, the tics in our faces, and the scars that so many of us bare. Four years ago today, I received my biggest scar – both physically and mentally. When you receive a devastating […]
Living With Teal 