BY: HILARY PEARSON
Hospital life.
Nerve block injections.
12 needles in my head.
12 injections of Bupivicaine.
2 injections in my shoulders.
You think I would be used to it by now.
I get these injections in my skull every two weeks.
Every two weeks for the last 21 months.
588 injections so far.
The first ever injection triggered a panic attack. I could hear the needle crunch into my skull, as one of the nerves the neurologist targets is close to my ear.
I was given Lorazepam to treat the anxiety.
Lorazepam acts on the brain and nerves (central nervous system) to produce a calming effect.
Bupivacaine is an anesthetic (numbing medicine) that blocks nerve impulses in your body.
My head is numb. It feels like a balloon. I can tie my hair up in a pony tail without triggering a migraine.
The Bupivicaine will wear off in 5 days.
I’ll take it. .
5 days without chronic migraines. Without severe chronic pain. .
The Women’s College Hospital Headache Clinic has made such a difference in my life. The injections allow me some peace. Some relief.
My least favourite part is washing the blood out of my hair after the injections.
Hilary is a Toronto-based non-fiction writer and UofT master’s student. Hilary is recovering from TBI, PCS— and spends much of her free time on FaceTime with Isla, her baby niece.”
This post originally appeared on her Instagram, @halite_brain_beads