Linda O'Shea wasn't a stranger to migraines, or period pain. About three months ago, she was prescribed a new birth control pill. She knew exactly what would happen- it would stop working in a week or two. She was just waiting to be writing in pain on the floor in a puddle of tears. And while this pill was the three month one, her period last week had been just as bad.
Before fourteen years old, probably, she didn't remember getting migraines. She would get headaches and become physically ill because of them. She still remembered the time she hurled in the school hallway on her way to the nurse's office because of her headache.
Thank goodness that doesn't happen anymore, she thought. But she still got headaches pretty frequently. Migraines weren't a thing until she was fourteen or fifteen, and if she thought long enough about it, she'd realize they came about when she was first prescribed birth control.
Linda scratched her head as she did her science homework. She wished Danny was with her, but he was doing something with Jamie today. She sighed in frustration, her "brooding headache" getting stronger. She was almost done with the homework, and she was sure the headache was from dehydration. She'd fix it when she was finished.
Linda looked at her left hand as it started to go numb. "That's not right..."
She wasn't leaning on her hand, so why would it go to sleep like that? She just flexed her fingers and continued her homework. Her foot and leg fell asleep next, so she shifted where she wasn't sitting on them. But then her left arm went numb, and she started to get concerned. She moved her arm to get the blood flowing, but it still stayed tingly.
The thing that really freaked her out though, was her nose going to sleep. Why would her nose go numb? That had never happened before! Her cheek followed, and she was certain her ear went numb too.
"Okay this is not good," she determined, but as soon as she stood up, everything went away. The numbness, the migraine, everything went away once she stood. "Okay. That was weird."
She told her roommate in painful detail while they made dinner, and Brie agreed. It was weird. Neither lady had an answer for Linda, though.
*********
Two weeks later, she was in bed with another migraine when it happened again. It started the same way as well: first the hand, then the foot and leg. She changed positions, convinced it was just lack of blood flow. But when she felt her face go numb again, she sat up quickly. She stumbled out of bed, actually falling to her knees, then stood up quickly. None of that helped her migraine.
Linda marched into the main room very quickly and went straight to the shared computer in the corner. By the time it came to life, the numbness was gone, but she needed to know what it was. She needed to know what caused it so she could prevent it. She needed to know what to do when it happened again.
It took her only ten minutes to find her answer. It was a body aura. She didn't know those things existed. But wait, there was something more, something much more concerning.
It can also be signs of a stroke.
"A stroke?" Did she just almost have a stroke? And what about the time before that?
She stood up and went back to her bedroom. It was only two o'clock (thank goodness for morning class she often thought), and dialed her doctor's number.
"Hi, I seem to be having a problem. Apparently I almost had a stroke?... Yeah. I got a migraine, and the entire left side of my body went numb.... What birth control am I using? Uh the three month one. It's uh... Jolessa."
Linda was surprised when the nurse told her to immediately stop taking it. "Oh. Okay.... I can come in Friday. Friday at two? Uh yeah. That works. Okay thank you."
*********
"So how's your month been?" Danny asks as they eat lunch together.
"Ugh, crazy! Did you know I almost had a stroke twice?"
"What?"
"Apparently too much estrogen can cause strokes," Linda shrugged. "I got a migraine, and then the left half of my body went numb."
"What? Why?"
"Because of too much estrogen."
"Why was there too much?"
"Because the experts at Staten Island OBGYN thought it was a good idea to give the girl with migraines a pill that was loaded with estrogen! Which I don't understand why, since it's in my file that I suffer from migraines."
"That seems like it shouldn't have happened."
"You're right. It shouldn't have. But it did. Now I'm on progesterone only pill."
"Is it working better?"
"So far? Kind of. The pain is still unbearable but at least I can do stuff."
"What does that mean for the future?"
"The future?"
"Is it going to affect other stuff?"
"I don't know, to be honest. I don't think it should. Now that I know about the estrogen thing, I can tell future doctors."
That wasn't exactly what he meant, "did it scare you?"
"Hell yeah. I didn't know what was going on. And then I looked it up and thought oh shit." She laughed but then stopped once she saw the look on his face. "What's wrong?"
He fiddled with his fork for a minute, then blurted out, "what if something had happened to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"What if you really did have a stroke or something, and I wasn't here? I don't think..." he didn't finish as he looked down at his lunch.
Linda sighed quietly and put her hand over his. She smiled a little when he turned his hand so she could hold it. "That didn't happen, Danny. It it's not going to happen. If someone wants to give me an estrogen filled pill, I'll just say no."
"But—"
"No, Danny, listen. It's okay. I'm okay. You only have four more months left, right?"
"Yeah but what does—"
"Don't worry about me. The doctor figured it out. I'm okay now. I promise." She stressed that last word while squeezing his hand.
"Promise?"
She was surprised by this. Danny was usually protective of her- and anyone else who was important to him- but this was different. This almost looked like fear. She stood up and sat in his lap, putting her arms around his shoulders.
"I promise." She kissed him as if it sealed the promise.
