Pinch me! I’ve been invited! 💜❤💜

Introducing myself to the other advocates…

Hi!👋 My name is Donna Kobayashi. I’m 47 and call amazing Austin, TX my home. Being a part of Headache on the Hill is an honor beyond honors! It is my first year, and I find myself among some of the greatest migraine advocates in the world. I am in no way worthy of being here, but I will endeavor everyday to be so!
I’ve been a migraineur all my life. My mom was able to identify one of my first migraines at age 6 because she was a migraineur. And so was my dad. And both sets of grandparents. And one of my brothers. All episodic.
I stayed episodic for many, many years and was just fine! I became chronic in my later 30’s. I was completely alone and felt freakish, and watched in horror as my life became unrecognizable. No doc really explained that chronic meant forever and there was no cure. There was “managing” and that was experimental, drawn-out, expensive, often disappointing and sometimes unavailable, and mentally and physically exhausting. It was 6 years of isolation, pain, and whacky symptoms before I connected with the chronic migraine community and support. I was suddenly not alone. And I was not a freak! I’m sadly no longer able to work my beloved career as a Registered Nurse. I try very hard to function as a wife and mother of 4 awesome kids: 16, 18, 20, and 21. I also blog about MyBeautifulMigraine journey. It is my great hope to speak my migraine in every attempt to save another from that isolation, and to help spread migraine awareness and education.
💜❤💜