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Cluster Kids
Is your Mom or Dad having headaches that make them very upset? Do they
sometimes yell at you to leave them alone when they are having a headache?
It’s scary, isn’t it. Sometimes, because they’re in pain, they might
even blame YOU for their headache!! That’s not fair, (and it’s
certainly not true) but they are probably in so much pain that they
don’t realize what they’re saying, sometimes. It’s kind of like they
become someone else when they’re having a headache. Someone scary.
There are a few things you should know about these headaches they’re
having. First of all, they are called cluster headaches. We don’t know
what causes them and we don’t really know how to make them go away. But
we DO know that these headaches aren’t going to kill them. Each headache
is usually called an attack and each attack is usually over within a
couple of hours. That seems like a long time and it’s very hard to watch
your parent getting attacked when there isn’t anything you can do to
help. Sometimes, they can have many attacks in one day. One thing you CAN
do, just by yourself, is to watch the clock and tell ourselves “it’s
only going to be about 20 more minutes…..15 more minutes…10 more
minutes”. Sometimes that really helps you get through it.
Sometimes, your mom or dad DOES really need to be alone when they have an
attack. They probably don’t want you to see them in so much pain. And
that’s OK. You’d probably be more of a help to them if you could let
them have some privacy at those times. Maybe you can go into your room and
draw them a nice picture or, write them a letter or make them something
that they will like when they’re not having so much pain.
Another thing you need to know is that you’re not the only person who
has to watch their parents go through these headaches. There are lots of
other people in the world that do too! And lots of kids that are just as
scared and confused as you are, so please don’t feel alone anymore.
If you need to talk to someone, just to tell someone that you’re scared
or you’re mad or you need ideas on how to help, ask your Mom or Dad
(when they are NOT having an attack) if you can visit the Supporters Board at:
http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi
and talk
to others who go through what you do. There are areas on this message
board that are reserved for supporters just like you!
Sometimes even an e-mail >>>>>HUG<<<<< will
help you to feel better. And, hey – maybe YOU can talk to another kid
out there that’s just as scared as you are and maybe you can help THEM.
You can be CLUSTERPALS and work together to get through it!!
If you would like to speak to an OUCH Family Services Team member, e-mail us at familyservices@ouch-us.org
or click the Question/Feedback link in the left menu. Someone will answer
you as soon as possible. You can even set up a time to meet a Team member
in the FST Chatroom, also in the left menu. We are here to help in any way
we can.
And one last thing – there is a group of folks out here who are working
all the time to find a cure for cluster headaches. And we’re not going
to stop until we find one!!!
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