My husband likes to call me a vampire because I don’t go outside in the summer, or when it’s too sunny and usually if it’s bright all the shades are drawn so it’s not so bright in the house.

Last summer I went to the pool with the kids a lot, we even took a road trip as a family. Last summer, even with sunscreen that was reapplied frequently I got two second degree sunburns. I am going to go ahead and blame my Irish, Scottish and Danish ancestry for the extremely pale skin that only freckles and burns.

I get 5 different types of headaches and migraines, which apparently is not super common according to the doctor I saw at the neurology headache clinic I went to. I take 2 migraine preventative medications daily and I have 3 to take when the hit. Sunlight can cause a migraine for me sometimes which is one of the reasons I prefer the house not super bright.

The sun also aggravates my Optic Neuritis, which apparently causes paleness in that optic nerve. The sun is my nemesis, whether it knows it or not, we are not on good terms. It’s heat in the summer makes all of my MS symptoms worse in addition to temps over 75 making every nerve in my body feel as though a stun gun has hit them.

I am not a vampire, I just have a very complicated relationship with the sun and summer.