head trip
During the month or so before my trip to Texas, I’d been having lots of headaches. I went through an entire bottle of ibuprofen, as well as an entire bottle of vodka. I was hurting. Almost every day. One evening I joked with Shane that maybe I had a brain tumor. Funny, I know. Hilarious.
Then we went to Texas. And when the plane made its descent into the Austin airport, I thought my head might explode. I’d never felt that kind of pain in my head before: stabbing, sharp, incredibly intense. I worried about passing out. I worried that perhaps I did have a brain tumor after all. But mostly, I worried about the fact that we were landing in Texas. It was very clear to me that, if I needed a brain surgeon, I wanted one in Seattle. One that did not wear cowboy boots. One that did not chew tobacco. One that had, in fact, been to medical school.
The plane landed, and my pain receded but continued on. The next morning it still hurt. So I did what I do when my back’s to the wall: I Googled. And I found that it was probably just a sinus issue. Nothing dramatic. The town doctor-slash-veterinarian was not needed after all. I simply needed some Sudafed. Which, after a thorough background check, I was able to purchase.
The Sudafed helped. And since returning home, I’ve been taking it when I get my headaches. I’m not sure this is sustainable, but it’s working. Working better than caffeine or alcohol or sleep. Not that I’m abstaining from any of those things.