| Profile: Paula Ann Garber, Migraineur | |
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Paula Ann Garber was born and raised in New Jersey, and moved to central Florida in 1977. Despite her headaches, which began when she was 12-years-old, Paula married, raised two children, and now has three grandchildren to spoil.
Paula's life as a "headacher" began at the age of 12 with daily headaches. When she was in her early 30's, she was diagnosed with classic migraines. As a classic migraineur, Paula experiences auras with the majority of her migraine attacks. Her auras include blinking lights, numb cheeks, five or six spots of lights spiraling in a circle, and a little blurred circle that keeps getting bigger and bigger until it disappears. One very unusual aura even included a visual hallucination of Christmas packages. (Of this, Paula says, "Oh yes, I am weird.")
Paula has found Depakote to be an effective migraine preventive for her. It has lessened the frequency of her migraines from almost daily to three to five times per month. Unfortunately, the triptans (Imitrex, Maxalt, Zomig, Amerge, Axert) have caused problems with Paula's heart, so she's unable to take advantage of them. Her next plan is to try Migranal Nasal Spray to see if her body will tolerate it.
She has worked in sales and management and as and editor and journalist for a theme park in Florida. Presently, she is a part-time editor and ghost writer for a writer's co-op. In addition, she is a successful novelist. Her first novel, Voices, was published in 2000. The sequel, Solitaire, is to be published next year as well as a novelette, Christian Indian.
Somehow, Paula also finds time to act as a
volunteer forum host for our About Headaches/Migraine forums. To those of you
who frequent the forums, her signature graphic should be quite familiar. As a
forum host, Paula shares her experiences and offers support to others dealing
with migraines and other headache disorders.
Paula lists her hobbies as, "Reading, writing, but not arithmetic!" She loves
horses and dogs. and previously owned a mini-ranch and raised quarter horses.
Paula and her husband live in the suburbs now and have two dogs. Quicken, is a
beautiful red and white greyhound, that they adopted from the Orlando Greyhound
Rescue, affiliated with the Sanford Greyhound Track. Eddie, is a tri-colored
Jack Russell Terrier and very much like his namesake on the Fraser show.
From Paula:
"My migraines were too severe and frequent for me to work a full time job, so I was forced to semi-retire. I decided it would be a good time to start writing again. But, that did not come easy. Along with my migraines, I deal with mind fog. I often have difficulty articulating ideas. Finding the exact word I'm looking for is like standing behind a thick cloud, with all the words in the dictionary on the other side. Quite an obstacle for a writer! So, I work with that disadvantage but I do not let it defeat me. I persevere and eventually do fairly well despite the fog. When I have an occasional clear day, I write non-stop, from early morning until late at night. I live for those moments. I feel like my old self again and get so much accomplished. On days when I'm bedridden with a migraine, I sometimes come up with new ideas for time lines, plot changes and become aware of some mistakes I have made. It's miraculous that this happens, because I usually can't think or concentrate on anything during an episode. These thoughts just seem to pop into my mind. I believe they come from God.
My advice for anyone who is suffering from migraines, is to work around them. Don't let them defeat you. When you are not having a bad migraine, do what you enjoy most. I am not minimizing how horrible a migraine is. When they are full blown, they are worse than giving birth, breaking a bone, or passing a stone. Been there, done that. As far as I'm concerned, nothing else compares to the pain of a migraine.
I believe we are here for a purpose. God has a plan for all of us. As much as I hate to suffer, I know that it has made me a better person. I have heard it said, that in order to help greatly, we must first suffer greatly. I know I am a much more compassionate person now. And, more determined than ever to follow my dreams and reach my goals. I thank God for His wisdom."
Voices:
Voices is a psychological thriller centered around a serial killer lose in central Florida. Although he leaves his "signature" on each of the women murdered, the police investigation is going in circles.
The character development is superb. Her portrayal of the lead detective pulls you into his frustration, anxiety, and near obsession to find the murderer. I found myself nearly as obsessed as the character, not wanting to stop reading until I'd finished the book. Paula also has a character in Voices who is a migraineur. As most of us experience, there are some who understand how debilitating her attacks are, but most, including her son, are clueless.
Voices twists and spins, pulling the reader
into the intrigue and the complexities of the characters. When it seems to be
coming to a resolution, it shocks you in the last pages.
A treat for About Headaches/Migraine Readers:
If you'd like to have an autographed copy of Voices, you can order it from
Jawbone Publishing,
autographed and at a discounted price for our readers. Simply go to
Jawbone Publishing,
click on "Fiction" and order Voices. On the order form, where it asks how you
heard about Jawbone Publishing, simply enter "About Headaches/Migraine." Paula
has arranged the special price and for the books to be sent to her to be
autographed before shipping. Thank you, Paula.
Summary:
Headache disorders, including migraine, can be very debilitating. This feature is the first in a series of profiles of "headachers," showing how they cope with those debilitating headache disorders and live their lives. We'll be profiling people from all walks of life — teachers, doctors, mothers, actors, singers, authors. We'll also be taking a look at some historic figures who suffered with headache disorders — people such as Thomas Jefferson, Vincent Van Gogh, and Napoleon. As you read these profiles, here are some statistics to keep in mind:
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90% of men and 95% of women report having suffered at least one headache each year. (According to the American Council for Headache Education.) Every day, one out of seven people limit their activities because of headache pain.
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Headaches and migraine cost employers $13 billion annually.
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Over 18 million doctor's office visits are attributed to headache and migraine yearly.
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Last year, over $4 billion was spent on over-the-counter headache medications.
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58% of headache and migraine sufferers require some bed rest to overcome the headache, resulting in 112 million bedridden days per year.
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