wise words
Name: Bray Patrick-Lake Residence: Erie, Colo.
Conditions: Migraine with aura( described as complex and transformed migraine)
First Diagnosed: At 34 years old, when she found herself semi-paralyzed and unable to speak
Photography by Jon Glassberg
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What’ s the most frustrating thing about living with migraine? It’ s the constant energy that goes into managing an illness on a daily basis. It’ s very unpredictable, and you have to try to make your life as predictable as possible.
What are you most thankful for? I’ m most thankful for my family’ s resilience. My children have a vocabulary that’ s really inappropriate for children as young as they are. It relates to my disease. They understand that my migraine is a barometer of our world sometimes. It makes them have to function as adults in some sense rather than as free-spirited children.
What’ s your greatest achievement? In the summer of 2010, I competed in the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, Colo. As soon as I arrived, I got a horrible migraine. I didn’ t even know if I could get out of bed. But I went to the competition, pushed my hardest and ended up winning a gold medal in my age category. My kids still talk about it because they didn’ t see me as a sick person that day.
How do you live your day-to-day life? I have a large tattoo on my back that says,“ Every day one step forward.” It’ s how I live my life. When I can’ t do anything else, if I can just put one foot in front of the other, sometimes that’ s enough to get me through the day and move me closer to my goals.
What’ s your favorite book? The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself, by Michael A. Singer.
What’ s your idea of happiness? Happiness to me is being both pain-free and carefree at the same time. Every single thing I do has to be managed, and I’ d really like to get to a place where migraine is just an afterthought.
Bray Patrick-Lake is the executive director of Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement( H. O. P. E.) and president of the PFO Research Foundation.
48 HEAD WISE | Volume 1, Issue 3 • 2011