14,739 Days Alive
2,179 Days Straight on Duolingo
8.75 Days Until Llama Visits
I don’t know why, but I have a headache that is localized to just above my goddamned right eyebrow.
It’s not blinding or anything. But it is persistent and makes my face twitch a bit when it randomly spikes. And sometimes my eyelid goes on the fritz. I know it is likely to just be this year’s autumnal cluster headache fuckery. I’ve been dealing with cluster headaches since… I think I was seven when I had my first cluster headache hit. I had an ocular migraine just after my brother was born and got in trouble for a stupid reason because of it.
Oh, not fun story time!
Back in February 1992, my little brother was born. I love him dearly, thankfully. He was mostly a happy baby, but got colic around the end of March that year. And stayed scream-y until literally the Fourth of July, 1992. Around my birthday (June) of 1992, my dear, sweet, pissed on the cat, my mother, and stepfather at least once; darling baby brother hit the double whammy: colic and a really bad ear infection.
I had been having headaches for about six months at that point. The adults in my life assumed it was attention-seeking or new-baby jealousy. It was literally chronic, iron-deficient anemia coupled with my lack of glasses that weren’t my mothers handed down to me. Anyway, my baby brother screamed so much for the first part of June, I thought I was going to go bonkers. I had a headache so bad once that he screeched and I just… dropped. Full syncope episode, apparently. I woke up an undetermined time later with my legs propped up on couch cushions.
My mother was, at the time, ranting that I was obviously faking my symptoms, and there was nothing wrong with me. My Nana, her mother whose memory will always be a blessing, yelled at her to stop yelling. I don’t understand the logic there, but it worked. Nana made my mom take me to an urgent care or something. I don’t actually remember what it was. all I remember, was the nurse calling me a delightfully macabre little weirdo for enjoying watching her draw blood for tests. It turns out, friends, that I have been iron deficient anemic for like the last thirty three years. That was confirmed the last time I had bloodwork. Sucks for pre-existing condition.
Anyway! Poor little Mal didn’t scream for much of Hurricane Andrew, but that was in August. According to Google, August 23rd is when Hurricane Andrew made landfall. We lost power fairly quickly, ended up staying with my great-grandparents since they had storm windows and the like. That’s when I fainted again, but I literally don’t remember any of it happening. All I remember is my mom sticking something under my nose that brought me back to this dirt side of La-La Land.
Man. The more I reminisce about my childhood, the more I realize it was pretty fucked up. I guess I am glad I’m still here, even if the world is a flaming hellscape the majority of the time.
Anyway, my brain hurts and I need sleep. Take your meds, folks.
Postmark Wonderland 