Help Kelly raise money

All it took was one selfish, careless truck driver* and I went from Helen Morgendorfer with better hair to living out Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde.

And not in the good way.

My name is Kelly, and I have a brain injury and migraines (and a medical rap sheet slightly longer than War & Peace)

This neurological disease bring joys like falling/vomiting randomly in front of colleagues or emerging from a sudden, multi-day headache with only fuzzy memories and everyone mad at me for being stupid.  

Why I Joined Miles for Migraine

FOUR percent of migraine sufferers (of an estimated 40M in the US) have access to a headache specialist. Few of us are given the accommodations/inclusivity we need to hold down career jobs. This is a problem because we migraine sufferers spend $41 Billion a year on care.

Many doctors don’t understand migraine – it’s easier and very common for them to say we’re faking, malingering and crazy.

We’re faking that we’re OK.

How It Works

With the popular negative narrative about migraine sufferers, and our confidence often broken by the gaslighting we often receive because of it, we don’t get the advocacy, medical research and social empathy that is our due.  

As a result, FIFTY CENTS per migraine patient, per year is spent in the US on migraine research. That means my ability to live a productive life is worth less than a can of store-brand diet cola to the medical community.

Miles for Migraine is looking to raise money for research, and spread awareness to change this malicious and deadly narrative.

We (me, my support network has been obliterated since my accident) on Team Revenge of the Roadkill Zombie are raising $$ for the headache center at UCLA.

Why team Revenge of the Roadkill Zombie? 

Well, in the process of coming close to being Roadkill, I became partially brain-dead and not the same person as before… just like a Zombie. (Yeah, some days my speech is really that bad). Speaking my truth and lifting up myself and others is my Revenge. >:)

No, Mom, I’m not running on my sorry-ass excuse for a spine. As part of the Relax track, I’ll be posting pics of myself doing some of the creative activities that are central to my identity & pivotal to my emotional well-being.

Let’s be clear: 

I’m among the four percent, but I had to go through hell for 2+ years to get here. I’m so grateful both for insurance, and for my affluent and compassionate friend who saw how abusive my medical situation had become, and pulled strings.

Life as a 4%-er, means access to prescriptions for migraine meds that are over $800 a month (with insurance). One is a giant shot in the ass.  These medications just reduce my chances of getting these debilitating headaches, and usually take them from 3-4 days to just one.   

Ninety-six percent of Americans in my shoes, will never even have these options mentioned to them.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: 

Join my team! You can run, walk, or share pics of yourself doing yoga/meditation/art or whatever relaxation looks like to you. 

Share this link!

Educate yourself about what migraine sufferers like me go through. I may be the weirdest and most vocal one you meet, but I won’t be the last. 

And if nothing else…

Show compassion to the next chronic pain/chronically ill person you meet. One of the worst parts of this ordeal has been the verbal abuse, slander, threats, harassment, and cyberbullying I’ve faced from those who are furious at my reduced productivity. 

And above all else, NEVER ask a chronic pain sufferer "Have you tried..." 

Thank you for reading, and be well!