Mum's Got a Migraine

by Shelley White
^{(creative writers at www.morewriting.co.uk)}
I have to be as quiet as a mouse when mum has a headache. I have to play quietly downstairs while mum stays in bed with the curtains closed so that it's all dark.

Daddy says she's got a special type of headache called a migraine. The migraine makes her rush to the bathroom to be sick and sometimes she has to do a poo at the same time.

I feel sorry for her because her face goes pale and sometimes she says it even hurts to comb her hair. She can't talk very loud either because she says it makes her head worse---she often just speaks in a whisper.

She says she can't cuddle me now because her head is hurting so much.

Daddy says I can't have toast for my breakfast because the smell of it will go up the stairs and make mum feel more sick. I have to have cornflakes because she won't smell them!

Daddy says mum will be better by tonight in time to kiss me goodnight. I'm glad because I've missed mum today and mum's face is so soft when she kisses me.

Daddy gave her some special tablets when the pain in her head started and he said they should start to make her better soon. Sometimes though, when she keeps being sick, she can't keep her tablets down. Then she has to have a special medicine called a suppository ... but that's not very often and nothing to worry about.

When mum finally got better and came downstairs, I asked her why she got a migraine. She told me that people get migraine for different reasons. Sometimes certain foods or drinks don't agree with them and can make them poorly ... but they get to know which foods or drinks they are and make sure they avoid them.

Last night mum and daddy had a bottle of red wine, some cheese and crackers and some chocolates. Daddy didn't get a migraine this morning but when mum opened her eyes she could see all coloured lights flashing. Mum said the coloured lights are called an aura and this is a sign that a migraine may be on its way. If you see an aura and then get a migraine it's called a classic migraine.

Not everyone who has migraine gets the aura warning them they may get a migraine. But when mum saw the pretty lights, she knew she was going to get one.

Alistair is one of my friends at school. He told me his mum gets migraine but she doesn't see any coloured lights. Her headaches are called common migraine. She doesn't always have to stay in bed all day---usually just a few hours. Sometimes his mum gets one if she is in a smoky room or if the lights in the room are extra bright. She doesn't have to run to the bathroom as often as my mum though. Alistair says she takes her tablets straight away and gets better quite quickly. I wish my mum was like that ...

Mum says grandma used to have migraines and so do my auntie and my cousin. She says I might get them when I grow up because sometimes migraines run in families. But she says I mustn't worry because not everyone gets migraine as bad as she does.

When I grow up I want to be a teacher because I like school a lot especially reading and nature. I hope I don't get migraine like my mum. But if I do, I will take my tablets straight away, before my head starts to thump really hard and before I start to feel sick. If I do that, then the tablets have a better chance of making the migraine go away much quicker. Mum says if I do get migraine a very lot, I can take some medicine every day and that will stop them coming so often.