| Our Poets Show "You're NOT Alone!" | |
|
Why a poetry contest?
- Writing is a wonderful outlet for many people with chronic health problems. It gives us the opportunity to express feelings, and often helps us get some of the frustration out of our systems. It's a very healthy activity for many of us.
- Sharing these wonderful works of art can help express the fear, pain, and frustration of headaches/Migraine in a way that some people will understand better than they would a normal conversation.
- To support each other while building awareness among "non-headachers."
- It's National Poetry Month
- Why not? :-)
Dedicated to Abi, Migrainous
Stroke Victim:
Our site and all our resources are
dedicated to helping ALL sufferers of head pain disorders. One of the issues we
address most is proper diagnosis and medical care. Whether you have Tension-Type
Headaches, Cluster Headaches, Migraine Disease, or another head pain disorder,
it is essential to educate ourselves about our condition, know when we need to
seek medical care, and not ignore warning signals.
In October of 2001, we gained a new forum member and chat room participant. Her name was Abi. She was 21-years-old, anticipating a long life with her fiancé, and was in the fifth day of a Migraine attack. On a Wednesday evening, in the chat room, we pleaded with Abi to tell her parents how ill she was and ask them to take her to the emergency room. Abi wouldn't go to the ER for two reasons:
- Her parents didn't understand Migraine disease, and didn't take her "headaches" seriously enough.
- Her previous ER experiences had been devastating, with the doctors accusing her of "drug seeking" and not providing her with adequate care.
Abi DID end up in the ER, however . . . two days later when she suffered a hemorrhagic stroke that the doctors confirmed were caused by her Migraine attack. After about a week in the hospital, Abi was able to go home. Unfortunately, because Migraine and the Migrainous Stroke had weakened blood vessels in her brain, when Abi had her next Migraine, she suffered a second stroke within a few hours of the start of the attack. Abi did not recover from the second stroke. What many people do not take seriously is that Migraine can literally kill. According to MAGNUM, the National Migraine Association, more people in the U.S. died last year from Migrainous Stroke than were killed by handguns. We all miss Abi terribly, and this Second Annual "You're Not Alone" Poetry Contest is dedicated to her. This poem, as well as the poem on the artwork for the contest (shown below), are dedicated to our friend, Abi:
| Sweet Abi fresh . . . young . . . kind . . . fragile . . . strong . . . ethereal . . . wounded . . . hurting . . . loving . . . precious . . . bright . . . shining . . . sent to us . . . then taken home . . . Abi, we love you. |
From our
Judges, Terri Miller Burchfield and Michael
John Coleman, co-founders of MAGNUM, the National Migraine Association:
"We want to express our thanks and admiration for the level of effort
and the amount of yourselves that each of you put into your works. We are very
excited to see so much quality work although it made the contest very difficult
to judge. The winners will be highlighted on the MAGNUM site, and all the
entries will be published there as well. Congratulations to everyone. We look
forward to judging the entries next year!".
Congratulations and thanks to all
who entered. A special thanks to our judges, Terri Miller Burchfield
and Michael
John Coleman.
- Best of Show: When I Was Young
- Migraine Milestones by Dorrie Philbeck
- As I Write I Cry by Lamar Causey
- One Tear by SoftBreezeMe
- Codeine by Linette Schreiber
- My Mom's Migraine Pains by Michael Haynes
- You Scourge by Dee Schenersmann
- Migraine by Jasmine Walton
- Mommy's Love by Trace Fletcher
- O Migraine! by FragrantLight
- Alone by Shadow
- An Alternate Reality by Linette Schreiber
- Another Place by Sandra Koprowski
- Coming Apart by Holly Young
- Contemplations on a Heart by Eric Stone
- DEAMONS by Melissa Cox-Howlett
- Drifting by MLB
- Headache by Sandra Koprowski
- Here I Go by Lamar Causey
- Here it comes . . . by SoftBreezeMe
- I Don't Know Why by Katherine Jones
- I Sit Here Waiting by Katherine Tillery
- I try to enjoy . . . by Arnold Sadwin
- I Wake Once More by Norma Draper
- Its Reach by Jeffrey Patten
- Just Another Headache by Shaun
- Midst of A Migraine by Erica
- MONSTERS by Melissa Cox-Howlett
- My Life by Jan Boies
- My Nightmare by John Darrett
- My Personal Storm by Bruce J. Schryver Ph.D., CSP
- Netherworld by Lamar Causey
- No Mercy by Paula Keene
- NOT AGAIN by Jenn
- Pain In My Brain by Reebok
- Pain is my god by Lamar Causey
- Rainbow, Pounding, Pill and Peace by Teena Whitesides
- Stop by Amber Bee
- The Barn Cats by Vess Quinlan
- THE CHILD by Melissa Cox-Howlett
- The dark of night by jimac35754
- The day the 'Thud' came to call by Rick Crow
- The Mighty Oak by SoftBreezeMe
- The Migraine by Judy Jankauski
- The Onslaught by Linette Schreiber
- This Incredible Dream by Paula
- thoughts racing thru your head by Mandy Bright
- TRUE LOVE by Bill Riley
- What is this pain? by Gail Nielsen
- WHO FEELS IT KNOWS IT by Jacqueline
- Who Was There? by Erin Phipps
-
Ye Old Migraine.... by
susieg720
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