Help JH Sked Live Migraine-Free
Donation protected
JH Sked, or "J", as she is to me, is many things. A brilliant author. A warm, funny friend. A remarkably strong Reiki practitioner. A sufferer of migraine.
Those of you who have suffered with migraine know only too well the agonies it inflicts. Those of you who haven't, give thanks every day for this fact.
When not affected by migraine, J is a veritable dynamo. Energy pours off her in waves, rather like her spectacular hair - the bandana is not purely decorative, it's a security device, preventing her hair from taking over the world. But when the pain strikes, she ages before my eyes. I fear I'm losing her right then and there and when she talks about the pain being so bad she almost prays for death I know I have to do something. But what?
The last time J visited, a migraine struck on the last day. She knew it was coming. The dark circles under her eyes were clouds on her own personal horizon, a storm she could not avoid. Seeing a friend your age, who can only be described as "effervescent", visibly wilting before you is something you never expect. In your grandparents, yes. Maybe even in your parents. But not your contemporaries.
Migraine is now officially recognised as a brain disease and there are various treatments available. Up until recently J has had good results from Botox, but not anymore. The pain has become crippling, the migraines so frequent as to rule her life. There is another treatment she hasn't tried, where they actually cut away part of the muscle which presses on the optic nerve when migraine strikes, causing most or all of the pain and visual issues. But it's expensive - UK£7000 - and she would need to travel to Berlin.
Which is why I'm setting up this fundraiser. The migraine is getting worse and I am a selfish person: I don't want to lose my friend, least of all when there's a way to end her suffering.
J's current situation is probably best summed up in her own words: "So last week, the Botox I'd had for the migraines wore off. In one of the worst cases of incredibly bad timing my body has EVER come up with, it decided to respond to this by sending me into pain convulsions, swiftly followed by an episode of blindness, in the middle of the working day, at my desk."
(This is just the beginning of her account - you can read the full post at the link above, as well as finding out more about her and her work.)
J is an inspiration to me and I suspect would be to many others, especially creatives who, in my experience, often suffer with migraine. Working a demanding office job, frequently laid low by pain, nausea and hallucinations, she still finds the time and energy to write some of the funniest paranormal fantasy I have ever read, as well as being a fun-loving, adventurous and supportive friend.
Please help me rid her of this demon on her shoulder. Please help me banish migraine from her life. Even if you cannot donate, you can spread the word and that is no small thing. If you can donate, THANK YOU. Either way, you are helping to end her pain and for that you have my gratitude.
Thank you.
I'm offering up a free copy of my short story, The Scent Of Freedom, to anyone who donates £5 or more. If you'd like to donate books or, well, anything really which can be offered as rewards, please contact me via Facebook.
Those of you who have suffered with migraine know only too well the agonies it inflicts. Those of you who haven't, give thanks every day for this fact.
When not affected by migraine, J is a veritable dynamo. Energy pours off her in waves, rather like her spectacular hair - the bandana is not purely decorative, it's a security device, preventing her hair from taking over the world. But when the pain strikes, she ages before my eyes. I fear I'm losing her right then and there and when she talks about the pain being so bad she almost prays for death I know I have to do something. But what?
The last time J visited, a migraine struck on the last day. She knew it was coming. The dark circles under her eyes were clouds on her own personal horizon, a storm she could not avoid. Seeing a friend your age, who can only be described as "effervescent", visibly wilting before you is something you never expect. In your grandparents, yes. Maybe even in your parents. But not your contemporaries.
Migraine is now officially recognised as a brain disease and there are various treatments available. Up until recently J has had good results from Botox, but not anymore. The pain has become crippling, the migraines so frequent as to rule her life. There is another treatment she hasn't tried, where they actually cut away part of the muscle which presses on the optic nerve when migraine strikes, causing most or all of the pain and visual issues. But it's expensive - UK£7000 - and she would need to travel to Berlin.
Which is why I'm setting up this fundraiser. The migraine is getting worse and I am a selfish person: I don't want to lose my friend, least of all when there's a way to end her suffering.
J's current situation is probably best summed up in her own words: "So last week, the Botox I'd had for the migraines wore off. In one of the worst cases of incredibly bad timing my body has EVER come up with, it decided to respond to this by sending me into pain convulsions, swiftly followed by an episode of blindness, in the middle of the working day, at my desk."
(This is just the beginning of her account - you can read the full post at the link above, as well as finding out more about her and her work.)
J is an inspiration to me and I suspect would be to many others, especially creatives who, in my experience, often suffer with migraine. Working a demanding office job, frequently laid low by pain, nausea and hallucinations, she still finds the time and energy to write some of the funniest paranormal fantasy I have ever read, as well as being a fun-loving, adventurous and supportive friend.
Please help me rid her of this demon on her shoulder. Please help me banish migraine from her life. Even if you cannot donate, you can spread the word and that is no small thing. If you can donate, THANK YOU. Either way, you are helping to end her pain and for that you have my gratitude.
Thank you.
I'm offering up a free copy of my short story, The Scent Of Freedom, to anyone who donates £5 or more. If you'd like to donate books or, well, anything really which can be offered as rewards, please contact me via Facebook.
Organizer
Anne-Mhairi Simpson
Organizer
