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Turning the Corner

Thanks to everyone who expressed concern for Eleanor in the past few days. We were pretty spooked by her persistent and severe migraine, but she is turning the corner now.

Eleanor stayed in the trailer all last evening, taking some heavy-duty medications that had been prescribed for her. I spent some time researching migraines on the Internet, and learned about what to expect and how to help her recover. It's a difficult thing to experience, both as patient and caregiver.

Emma and I got out of the way last night by joining some friends for bowling. Emma loved bowling. We gave her a 6-lb ball and she rolled it slowly down the lane and did fairly well. (The bumpers were up, so she couldn't have a gutter ball.) At one point she was leading against three adults!

This morning Eleanor started to feel a tiny bit better, so we decided to proceed with our plan and head to Ft Wilderness (Disney). We met our friend Brett (with his 1978 Argosy 28 motorhome) and Barry (with his 1973 Overlander) at a local shopping center, and caravanned all the way to Disney World.

Fort Wilderness is a great place. Expensive, but very nice. Even though there are hundreds of campsites, each one feels private thanks to the extensive trees. The on-site activities are terrific (campfire sing-alongs, character visits, huge heated swimming pools, movies at night, games, etc), and of course we are only a short ride via boat or bus from all the Disney theme parks.

Eleanor crashed again this afternoon so Barry, Brett, and I took Emma out for a bike ride and later for the campfire sing-along. We grilled some steaks behind our Airstream this evening, and ate them with caesar salad and cheesecake, while listening to the crickets and talking.

If Eleanor had been with us it would have been better, but I felt good knowing she was recovering in her own bed and that I was close by at all times. We are hoping she will be feeling much better tomorrow, and able to join us at one of the theme parks later in the day. But in any case, this episode has been a reminder to us that you can't take life (and health) for granted. Carpe diem!

Comments

Hey Rich - I hope Eleanor gets better soon. A few thoughts - if it's truly a migraine - Imitrex is a drug of choice - but usually it's prescribed at onset of a migraine. Caffine and ibuprofen are also tips that may help. I am concerned that this seemed to start with Emma's bug.

Does Eleanor have photophobia (i.e. - do bright lights make her headache worse?). Can she bend her head down to her chin? If "yes" to photophobia, and "no" to being able to bend her head down, then I'd be concerned for mennigitis. A spinal tap would confirm this, but really, only indicated if she has these symptoms.

Other thoughts would be a sinus infection / impaction - but this would have to be fairly severe. An MRI would confim this.

Ok, us nurses always think of the worse, but just some tips.
Happy trails! I hope you all get some rest soon!
Marc

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