Vertrees Headache Center

When your patients bring holiday love in the form of Kendra Scott in migraine awareness purple. 😍

Happy Holidays everyone! 🎄🍾🕎

FYI, June is Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, and we're embarking on a series of posts to increase awareness! To learn more, visit https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/mham/.

Many of you know that my rescue dog Theo joined VHC as a therapy dog. His loving and gentle nature have made him a wonderful asset to our day-to-day operations. Theo brings joy to patients as they walk in the door and has even helped patients with needle phobia ease their anxiety before and after their procedures. And Lauren and I most definitely enjoy our Theo snuggles throughout the day!

Theo is technically a "Therapy Dog in Training" but is well on his way. He might greet you with an excited little bark when you come in if he's surprised, but he'll quickly smother you with kisses to make up for it!

If you're curious about Theo's journey to Therapy Dog-hood, here it is:

-Puppy 1 certificate: complete
-Puppy 2 certificate: complete
-Adult 1 certificate: complete
-Adult 2 certificate: pending
-Canine Good Citizen certificate: pending
-Therapy Dog certificate: pending.

How can you help Theo on his journey? Just come visit us at VHC and let him love on you. He's working on his manners and needs practice meeting people. Have a fear, aversion, or allergy to dogs? Let us know and we'll keep him away.

I can't believe I'm posting this.

It's with a heavy heart that I am sharing that my assistant Vanessa was killed last night in a domestic dispute. I'm devastated. A few of you got to meet her. She was someone who became very special to me in a very short time, as well as the patients, her friends, and her community.

She was a stay at home mom of a 10 and 13 year old who had been out of the workforce for years to raise her children prior to joining me this past March. She had no prior medical experience but was a quick study. She wanted very much to have something that was hers after years of sacrifice for her kids' enrichment, as we mothers know that can sometimes be hard to do, and this job was it. She was a natural saleswoman and Vertrees Headache Center became very much hers as it was mine and was a true source of pride. Weekly, if not more often, she told me how much she loved her job. She was truly remarkable, I know many of you won't understand, but she was.

I still cannot fathom what has happened. She was my sole employee. I will sorely miss her.

For obvious reasons, VHC will be closed for the rest of this week while I attempt to regroup. I remain available for calls.

I appreciate all the support given by all of you here.

Domestic violence sucks.

Indeed! If this is your experience, I'm here for you.

The pandemic is a headache — and for some people, it’s causing migraines Headache and migraine reports are increasing, with some experts seeing a “dramatic uptick” during the coronavirus pandemic.