Since moving to NYC, I have definitely had my share of mishaps, mayhem and mis-guided adventures. Most of them I have blogged about right here. Others are probably better shared over a few beers or a shot of tequila 😉 So, is it really any surprise that I found myself stumbling through the city on Saturday night desperately trying to get home with a migraine headache??!! Um, no.
I decided to spontaneously go out on Saturday night. After a fabulous Queen themed Soul Cycle class I was invited out by a friend to head to Soho for dinner and drinks. It was a night out that I desperately needed after a crazy few days. I really wanted to go. I quickly went home, showered, downed some water and it was as I was getting dressed that my vision started to do some funky things. For those of you who are migraine sufferers, you will know exactly what I am talking about. This is what is called “the aura”, basically for me, I start losing part of my vision and it is replaced by a bright spot with squiggle lines moving across it. At this point I also started to get a little bit of numbness in my hands. No big deal, right? I took some medication with more water and prayed to the migraine gods that it would soon go away and that the pain would not follow.
It worked for a bit, my vision cleared, I met my friends, we hopped into a cab and for a glorious bit of time I was pain free. And then we got stuck in traffic and the taxi jolted back and forth and the pain started and so did the nausea. You would think after thirty plus years as a migraine sufferer I would have learned the lesson that you can NEVER outrun a migraine, the pain always finds you. Apparently in my quest for a a fun night out I lost the ability to actually use my common sense. I hadn’t even had a drink yet. Ugh.
It was at this point, now that we were all the way at the Soho/Tribeca border that I decided I had to bail on my friends. I spotted the subway line and practically jumped out of the cab, begging forgiveness from my friends all the while extremely happy to be on solid ground breathing in cool breaths of fresh air. I steadied myself and made my way to the subway (there was no way I could cab back uptown without vomiting), bypassing the ACE trains, I made my way over a couple of blocks to the 1 line which would basically drop me off right in front of my apartment. While walking there, I was cursing my stupidity, if I hadn’t tempted the migraine gods I would already be in my bed in the my DARK and QUIET room. As I have wrote about before, New York City has to be one of the worst places on the planet when you are suffering with a headache- the city of lights, the city that never sleeps, the city of a million people, the city of sirens… all of these things are amplified in the worst possible way.
But I digress, as I stumbled, squinting (wishing I had my sunglasses to wear at night) to the 1 train, I just kept telling myself I was almost home and that I could do this… Get on the subway, find a seat, close my eyes, keep breathing and I would be home. Right? Wrong. The uptown trains were not running at this station due to construction, I had to go across the street and take the downtown train to Chambers St. and then transfer to the uptown train. At this point, I fleetingly considered just sitting on a bench and resting my aching my head but instead I focused on breathing. I walked across the street and was just about to enter the downtown subway stairs when I heard “Excuse me, are you from NY?, we are lost?” Seriously??? I wanted to just ignore them but the damn Canadian in me made me stop and help them. It was a lovely father and daughter from Cleveland, named Jim and ?, I mean crap, how can I remember at this point?? I was just trying to politely not vomit on their shoes while helping them. Anyway, they were trying to get to the Beacon Theatre (just around the corner from my apt) so I told them to just stick with me and I would help them get there. Luckily they seemed to get the hint that I was not in a very chatty mood.
So, now Jim, ? and I were stuck waiting for the downtown train (9 minutes!!!!) and then we picked up another couple who barely spoke english and needed help getting back uptown as well. We made it to Chambers St. where we waited another 7 minutes (are you f’in kidding me???) until we finally caught an express uptown 2 train. I apologized to Jim and ?, claiming I was tired and rushed to a seat where I promptly closed my eyes and hoped to make it home without incident. And we did, sort of… There was the guy who came through the train pretending to be blind (he was whacking his way around with a broom stick) and coming up to people demanding money, it un-nerved my Cleveland guests but I assured them that you get used to it. When we finally made it to 72nd street and I saw that it would have been another 9 minute wait for the 1, I exited the station with my new friends, pointed them in the direction of the Beacon and even suggested some dinner spots. Dad said “he could kiss me!”, I declined, reminded them to take the 1 train back downtown and then walked to my apt and FINALLY made it home.
As I crawled into the blissful black hole of comfort in the darkness of my room, thankful to finally be home I waited for the quiet to surround me only to hear the full blown temper tantrum of the my neighbor’s daughter. I swear, I can’t make this stuff up even if I tried.
The happy ending to this story is that I slept for 12 hours and fully recovered. And, I also promise to NEVER underestimate the power of the evil migraine beast again 😉
It's Always An Adventure 