Linda Summerfield
Senior Director of Communications, National Headache Foundation
How does a single mother of two young children live with chronic pain while also finding time to share her story and help the millions of Americans who live with migraine disease and headache disorders? Just ask Lindsay Weitzel.
Weitzel began experiencing chronic daily migraine when she was 4 years old and has “no memory of living without daily pain.” Her daily migraine was so severe that it damaged her nervous system and she developed complex regional pain syndrome.
Despite this, Weitzel, knowing how many people share her experience, decided to draw on her personal story to educate, advocate and raise awareness for headache disorders and migraine disease.
Easing pain
With a Ph.D. in analytical health sciences and a master’s in nutrition, Weitzel works full time as a migraine strategist and opened a clinic aimed at helping those who, like her, live with chronic pain.
To reach the widest audience possible, she also hosts Heads UP: The Weekly Webcast and Podcast of the National Headache Foundation. Each week, Weitzel features experts across the field of headache medicine, patients, and advocates to discuss the latest developments in treatment, and share personal experiences.
Besides her work with the National Headache Foundation, Weitzel is a published author, speaker, and yoga enthusiast.
While advocacy has always been deeply important to Weitzel, it’s taken on a deeper resonance since her two children, both under the age of 10, recently developed migraine disease. She’s rightfully proud to be raising a new generation of advocates, as her children have joined her in the mission to promote awareness, educate, and advocate for those experiencing migraine disease and headache disorders.
She has also fostered an environment of compassionate caretaking, with her kids ready to help out when she has to retreat to a dark, quiet room.
“My kids have been amazing caretakers,” Weitzel said. “They will fix their own meals, make popcorn, and climb into bed with me and watch a movie.”If you experience migraine disease or headache disorders and would like to learn more about your situation, or become more involved in the advocate community, please visit the National Headache Foundation’s website at www.headaches.org.