This Day in the Life of Migraine

Some of you may remember Anna Eidt from her guest post on the Canadian health care system. Anna and I also work together as contributors for Migraine.com. When the American Migraine Foundation sponsored the Migraine Moment film competition, Anna decided to give it a try. She enlisted the help of a cinematographer friend, wrote the original lyrics, and recorded the song that is featured in This Day. Much to her surprise, she won. At her acceptance speech, she explains,

The disease necessitates sensory deprivation, and in some ways the absence of living… And that is what I aimed to convey in this short film: the physical and emotional isolation that crowds in on daily life for people with migraine, that we must constantly fend off through no small effort, but also how migraine can make us stronger, because after years of learning to live with pain, I now trust myself to get up each morning and live to the best of my ability, and enjoy a new life that is different, but not less than the life I enjoyed before…

No one who watches this will be surprised at all. It conveys the loneliness and isolation of living with migraine. This Day was shown to participants at the AHMA conference on June 12th. Watching it with a group of migraineurs was a moving, emotional experience. Every sigh of recognition, laughter, and nod of understanding was in unison. Anna accurately portrayed our lives.

Anna was in audience that day, sitting quietly as we all watched in awe. She didn’t expect such a positive response from the migraine community. While she may have won a contest, we all received a gift. Her eloquent expression is a reflection of what we all experience every single day. She shared her thoughts about our overwhelming response in her June 27th blog post.

When I watch the video, I just see pieces of my life, but apparently many others can relate, and some people without migraine have said the video has helped them to understand the impact of migraine a bit better.

Even after watching it dozens of times, This Day still brings tears to my eyes. Anna, we love you for this beautiful expression that reflects the lives of millions.

This article is part of the July 2016 Ultimate Blog Challenge