Get to Know Me - Beth Edition

Hi everyone, you may have been here before but I thought I would re-introduce myself / share a little update for those who are new. Whilst we had been sharing bi-monthly feature artist blogs in 2022, it suddenly came to us that neither Cam nor I, had really introduced ourselves.

So, here goes...

My name is Beth, I'm 28 and I live in Perth, Western Australia. 
I have 3 brothers and 3 sisters (a big Irish family) however, only one of my siblings and my parents actually live in Perth. I was born in London, moved to Ireland when I was 7 months old and lived there until I was 10 before immigrating to Queensland and then moving to Perth when I was 19.

I can't wait to be able to travel back home to Ireland and England to see family and the incredible countryside. I just want to breathe in that fresh, Irish air. I am also really excited to take Cam there and as his family is Dutch, we're planning to visit Holland too. We are currently on a Qantas Frequent Flyer points mission so that we can travel in business or first class. We will be sure to share that journey with you all when we get there.

I'm just about to start a new, fully remote, full-time job as an HR Support Consultant with an hr and payroll software Company. I'm so excited about the flexibility it will allow me to have plus, they've got some amazing perks including a yearly, international ALL COMPANY overseas trip.

Outside of what I like to call "work, work" I spend most of my spare time working on Empire Copper, exercising occasionally and watching trash TV; this one is my guilty pleasure! (Currently: the Real Housewives of Potomac).

I've been pretty open across both our business and my personal socials about me living with migraine and chronic pain. As a teenager, I began to have a couple of migraines a week; by 2016 - 2017 I was having maybe 3 or 4 a week and then by 2018, I was having about 25 days a month with a headache or migraine. I've always had neck and jaw issues which I'm sure correlates to the migraine condition. In 2018, I had tennis elbow, shoulder bursitis and some damaged and bulging discs in my c-spine. This led me to getting an early degeneration of my upper spine 'diagnosis'. 

I tried 4 different neurologists before I found someone who helped and by helped, I mean that he probably saved my life. I used to always say to people, 'I'm not depressed, I just cry a lot' but looking back now, I most certainly was. I actually get teary thinking about it and talking about it because those few years were such an awful time in my life. I can't remember the amount of times I sat at the kitchen bench sobbing whilst Cam stood by feeling helpless. I always felt so guilty. 

I'm now on a combination of botox and oral medication which has reduced my migraines to 4 - 6 a month; what an improvement right?! Whilst I'm still dealing with chronic neck pain, the relief of not waking up with a pounding head everyday is unexplainable and sometimes it still feels surreal. One day the pain is there and you're just doing what you can to get from point A to point B and then you've got your life back, it's really weird. When you're deep in it, you think that it will never end, but it will. If you're reading this and resonating with it - hang in there. And, feel free to send me a message for support.

Living with this experience really taught me a lot and has certainly shaped who I am. I endeavour to be open minded and am compassionate and empathetic. You really never know what someone is going through, especially with an invisible illness like mine so please BE KIND. The next time someone is sick with a headache or migraine, try to be a little easier on them because like me, I'm sure they carry more guilt about how it affects you than you can ever imagine. I am grateful everyday to have had Cam as well as amazing friends and family to get me through some of my lowest points in life. Although most of my family doesn't live here, I still feel connected to them, we talk everyday.

The only other thing going on in our life is that we are currently building (well, trying to) our first home. We purchased our land in October 2020 and have only just reached lock up this week. Our builder is alleging we will be in before Christmas but, we are trying not to get our hopes up so we aren't let down and disappointed again. 

So, after all that, I hope you've enjoyed getting to know me a little more, even if it got a bit deep there for a minute.

I hope my pain journey encourages you to be gentler on yourself and others. And mostly, that it gives you or someone you know hope that things can and will get better, hang in there.

- Beth x