She came home from school....

...and said her head hurt. Of course the first thing the Huz and I do was to ask her HOW and WHERE she got hurt (she's been really, really good about telling us those details - with enough patience and prompting), so it was a bit confusing when she simply said, "My head hurts, I'm sick - I need my doctor." Note: she's been saying the doctor thing for a few weeks now, since the cold and coughing deal's been circulating throughout our household!

But this was different. The Huz realized it first when he said he thought she had a headache, and quickly administered a dose of children's motrin for our poor, pained, and complaining NBear. :(

My heart sank when I noticed that her headache showed all the signs of a migraine in the making - a genetic flaw she unfortunately couldn't help but inherit: she was stripping her uniform off (heat often triggers my episodes) and wanted to get into a super-thin sundress, she refused to stay in her brightly-lit room (opting instead for mommy and daddy's dimmer retreat), and - perhaps the most obvious clue to the cause of her suffering - she lay flat on her face and buried herself underneath our quilt. As all migraine sufferers know, LIGHT is the enemy when our heads are pounding. She cried for a good 10 minutes after that, and headed to the bathroom to throw up, and then was able to sleep for a bit.

The Huz was beside himself. (My poor NBear! She's just a kid. Why does she have to have so many things against her?) To which I replied: Well, she does have one thing to her advantage! (What?)...US! *smiling* I mean, you're looking at one of the MIGRAINE experts in the world, honey! I know how to make her feel better. *I mean, what do they say you do when life gives you lemons, right?*

Fortunately, her episode was short-lived. Whew! The Huz went to check on her a few hours later and she had not only emerged from her nap much happier, but greeted him with this wonderful group of sentences: "I feel better. Thanks Dad! You're the BEST!"

No, NBear....YOU are:)