Name: Bray Patrick-Lake
Residence: Erie, Colo.
Conditions: Migraine with aura (described as complex and transformed migraine)
First Diagnosed: At 34 years old, when I found myself semi-paralyzed and unable to speak.
Q: What is the most frustrating thing about your life?
A: It's the constant energy that goes into managing an illness on a daily basis. It's very unpredictable, and you have to try to make your life as predictable as possible.
Q: What are you most thankful for?
A: I'm most thankful for my family's resilience. My children have a vocabulary that's really inappropriate for children as young as they are. It relates to my disease. They understand that my migraine is a barometer of our world sometimes. It makes them have to function as adults in some sense rather than as free-spirited children.
Q: What’s your greatest achievement?
A: In the summer of 2010, I competed in the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, Colo. as soon as I arrived, I got a horrible migraine. I didn't even know if I could get out of bed. But I went to the competition, pushed my hardest and ended up winning a gold medal in my age category. My kids still talk about it because they didn't see me as a sick person that day.
Q: How do you manage your condition?
A: I have a large tattoo on my back that says, "Every day one step forward." It's how I live my life. When I can't do anything else, if I can just put one foot in front of the other, sometimes that's enough to get me through the day and move me closer to my goals.
Q: What's your favorite book?
A: The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself, by Michael A. Singer.
Q: What is your idea of happiness?
A: Happiness to me is being both pain-free and carefree at the same time. Every single thing I do has to be managed, and I'd really like to get to a place where migraine is just an afterthought.
