The next chapter

I have not posted for a few months, so many things have been coming up. I was recovering from a 2nd hip surgery and getting back to work. Also I was considering and dealing with a retirement offer from my institution.

The good news is that I am retired now as of 4/30! But boy was there a lot to do getting ready and also moving forward. Retiring is not for the faint of heart. Lots of calls and forms and decisions. Decisions about what to do next, how to structure my time, how to have the best retirement for me. I’ve working full time for a long time.

I have been reflecting on my 45 year career, as a nurse and then pediatric nurse practitioner (25yrs). While I have worked in a number of areas, I think the past 12 years working in acute inpatient pain and then chronic headache and pain have been the most rewarding. I have been able to help children and teens and their families manage the challenges of both acute and especially chronic pain and headache. Working with them to thrive in the face of a chronic painful condition has been so encouraging. For the past 2 months I have been saying good bye to patients and families I have know for 10+ years. It is wonderful to see the strong and resilient young people these kids have become. I know they all have the potential to achieve their dreams, whatever that is for them.

I also feel good about sharing my years of knowledge with families. I am very proud of my 1st book about pediatric headache for providers but even more thrilled and proud of my 2nd book for families dealing with children with headache and migraine. I have always been a good ‘explainer’, able to distill information into understandable and bite-sized nuggets. Could be my superpower. It is important for me to put accessible information about living life with pediatric headache out there for anyone who needs it. I have gotten a lot of good feedback that it has been helpful for families.

I am not sure if I will continue this blog, depends on how I decide to spend my time But I do feel proud of it. It was the first step I took to get information out there about headache and migraine. The most important stuff is on the blog already, and will be here for anyone who needs it. The post about doing a headache-informed neuro exam has been viewed many, many times! Seems to have answered a question. Also the posts about college and accommodations and moving to adulthood are popular. And any post related to New Daily Persistent Headache is viewed many times. I think that as common as headache and migraine is, there seems to be a lack of knowledge about it. I have found that is the case when I give talks with school nurse groups.

For those who read this blog, thank you very much. I can see in the stats there are visitors almost every day and from all over, not just the US. The information will be here, and if anything new comes up I will be happy to share. It has been a pleasure to contribute to the knowledge and understanding of pediatric headache in the community.