Get to Know Me - Beth Edition

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!

The end. 

Just kidding! But hey, now you already know more about me!? The title doesn't lie. ;)

Whilst we've been doing these bi-monthly feature artist blogs, it suddenly came to me that Cam and I hadn't really introduced ourselves. 

So, here goes.

My name is Beth, I'm 27 today and I live in Perth, Western Australia. 
I have 3 brothers and 3 sisters (a big Irish family) however, only one of my siblings actually lives in Perth. 

My full-time job (I just started a new one) is as an HR and Fleet Manager. I've only been there a couple of weeks now but I'm really enjoying it. I studied back-to-back Diploma's from 2017 - 2021 and have finally decided to give myself a break from formal education (I still love to learn in other ways).

Outside of this, I spend most of my spare time working on Empire Copper as well as our new business venture, going to the gym, reading aaaaand watching trash TV; this one is my guilty pleasure! (Currently: Too Hot To Handle)

I've been living with migraine for about 13 years now. As a teenager, I began to have a couple 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 some damaged and bulging discs in my c-spine, which led me to living with chronic pain in both my head and neck. 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 tried 4 different neurologists before I found someone who helped and by helped, I mean that he probably saved my life. I'm now on a combination of Botox and oral medication and my migraines have reduced to 4 - 5 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. 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. It has only been about 12 months that I've had this relief for. My last two birthdays, I've had a migraine. So, fingers crossed for today! 

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.

I can't wait to be able to travel again and go back home to England and Ireland to see family. I just want to breathe in that fresh, Irish air. I am also really excited to take Cam there. If you're reading this, please make me a promise right now that you will see Ireland at least once in your life (I highly recommend Tipperary and yes, I am biased).

The only other thing going on in our life is that we are currently building (well, trying to) our first home. Hopefully on my 28th birthday, we will be living there. There has been huge delays in the building industry in WA since COVID began. We bought our block of land in October 2020 and we only just had our slab/foundations go down in December. It's a little frustrating but, it is what it is and that's my motto for 2022. If you know me well you're probably thinking "Beth, go with the flow?! HAHA good joke" I guess time will tell...

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. 

Here's to me, you and vanilla birthday cupcakes.

- Beth x