Creative Corner
Addiction is a disease. It affects the addict as well as their family and friends. Those with an addiction, whether to alcohol, drugs, or other vices, will always face these demons. As much as those who love the addict want to help, it is the addict who must be willing to face the disease and accept that they are powerless over their addictions. Today my dear friend Rachael and her family are celebrating her brother Scott’s one year of sobriety. This is a monumental accomplishment, and I am elated for him. Though addiction, unlike many other diseases, cannot be cured, addicts can live in recovery, leading joyful and fulfilling lives. Simultaneously, the addict’s mantra, “one day at a time,” still rings true. While this is a major accomplishment, Scott will need to continue to choose sobriety each and every day in the face of addiction. A few months ago, Rachael…
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“You sleep a lot.” A couple times a year, I get to see close friends who live in Boston. They have three funny, smart and talented girls all under the age of nine. Some visits I can be very interactive, playing board games, going to the beach or putting on talent shows. Other times I just can’t. As much as I want to, my head gets the better of me. “You sleep a lot,” says the oldest. Kids are perceptive. They know when I don’t feel well. I explain that I get very painful headaches. I take medicine, but sometimes it doesn’t always help, so I have to lie down. Noah the Narwhal Over the summer I got a chance to preview a children’s book called Noah the Narwhal, A Tale of Downs and Ups by Judith Klausner and illustrated by Sarah Gould. Ms. Klausner has chronic migraine disease, like…
Keep Reading...This beautiful piece of art was created by my friend Terah. I personally gravitate towards images of trees and roots I think because it represents grounding and growth for me. I’m so excited to share her creative work. After many years in a successful career with Coca-Cola, Terah was forced to go on disability in 2011 with chronic daily migraine. She began getting migraines at age 15 and they became chronic in roughly 2002 and then daily in 2006. She now spends good days working on the crafty things she enjoys the most, art and music. This is what Terah has to say about her beautiful creation: This piece holds a great deal of sentiment for me. The roots represent the physical and emotional pain that I felt in my life at the time I conceived the initial drawing of this tree, which coincided exactly with leaving the job and…
Keep Reading...Arte Cluster is a project founded to raise awareness of cluster headache through art. Arte Cluster Project is an independent project founded and managed by Claudio Geraci, a chronic sufferer, and Francisca Mesa, a supporter.
Keep Reading...Arte Cluster is a project founded to raise awareness of cluster headache through art. Arte Cluster Project is an independent project founded and managed by Claudio Geraci, a chronic sufferer, and Francisca Mesa, a supporter.
Keep Reading...In an effort to encourage people with migraine to share their experiences through art, Allergan announces its Frames of Mind campaign. This interactive project invites artists to share their work to visually represent the impact that migraine can have on patients’ everyday lives.
Keep Reading...I’m so thrilled to share a third work of art by Lisa Benson, artist and writer for Migraine.com. Lisa says of this piece:
Keep Reading...“Caged” by Lisa Benson This self portrait is the tragically beautiful work of Lisa Benson, who is also a writer for Migraine.com. This is the second piece Lisa generously shared with Golden Graine in the Creative Corner.
Keep Reading...My dear friend and fellow writer for Migraine.com, Lisa Benson, was the first one to answer my call to share art that depicts illness and pain.
Keep Reading...Obsessing over Broadway musicals, creating a newsletter for my 5th grade class, writing an essay that won me a scholarship to a summer theatre camp at age 8, taking private vocal lessons, consistently writing personal diaries from the 2nd grade to the present, being a member of multiple award-winning show choirs, acapella and madrigal groups, singing and dancing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, participating in the Vienna Choral Society (VA), being cast in over 20 local dramas and musicals, singing the National Anthem for 4 professional sports games (baseball and hockey). These are the things that were so important to me and defined who I wanted to become.
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Katie is a professional patient, writer for Migraine.com, US Pain Ambassador, patient advocate, speaker, and freelance writer.