In the summer of 2013 I wrote about a very pleasant and educational early-morning walk I took with local birder Kelley Nunn. Kelley has been through some rough times since then: she started having mysterious and debilitating symptoms, including extreme dizziness, to the point that she was bedridden through most of 2014. She was finally diagnosed with vestibular migraines (a migraine is not always a headache, it seems), started adhering to a special strict diet and has recovered dramatically.
Kelley has started a website (mymigrainebrain.com) "to help others who are struggling to reach the vestibular migraine diagnosis, seeking more information about vestibular migraine treatment, or coping with chronic illness." It's quite well written and interesting. In a blog post from Dec. 15, she describes a momentous birding trip to Indian River Inlet:
"At the end of the day, I was elated to look down at my pedometer and see that I had taken over 6,000 steps on top of traveling for nearly 4 1⁄2 hours. And to make things even better, I still felt ok! ... On our way home, I started to think about my goals for next year’s recovery big year, and what sort of physical milestones I could accomplish in another year’s time. To go from bedridden to birding over two hours from home in a matter of months is mind-blowing. I feel so lucky and thankful to be improving, and am so endlessly grateful for days like these, spent adventuring outdoors."
No comments:
Post a Comment