A Weekend to Remember
By Wendy

I traveled 300 miles to see and meet Susan Olsen. The anticipation of finally meeting her was intense. I looked forward to finally getting to shake her hand and to speak with her. The weekend was also fun, in that I got the opportunity to meet a fellow Brady fan who I had met through this site. So I knew that someone would understand the excitement I was feeling and could share it. I was really nervous about meeting Susan for the first time and was glad I had a Brady buddy with me.

We arrived at the conference center around 8:45am. The audience was wanderng around looking at pamphlets and having their morning coffee. Then we were ushered into a auditorium. The presentation was about 2 hours, with Susan talking for about 15 minutes about her experiences with migraines. She was a good speaker and it was obvious she knew what she was talking about and that she had experienced many scary situations with her migraines. Then a neurologist spoke, then a physical therapist, finally a pharmacist covering the medical aspects of headaches and the relief that can be found for those who suffer.

Afterwards we were able to submit questions and this period lasted about an hour. Following that we all mingled again, many people asking the medical professionals more questions. I think about half approached Susan. My Brady buddy and I kinda stood off to the side until everyone else had talked with Susan. Then we got our pictures taken and I had her sign my scrapbook and a script my friend has, she is working at getting all the signatures. We had the opportunity to talk with Susan and to realize how down-to-earth she truly is. She was so comfortable to talk with, we never really discussed the Brady Bunch, we talked about other issues and it felt like I was talking with a friend.

Going back to the lecture, I found it to be so informative and learned so much about headaches in general that I never knew before. I know most people, myself included in some respects, always thought that a migraine was just a super-severe headache. But I learned that one of the key elements was the unilateral nature of the headache, whereas I know most people when they complain of a splitting headache, takes on a bi-lateral feeling of pain, therefore not a migraine. I recommend this lecture to anyone who suffers from headaches or if you know someone. Helping a friend, by understanding, goes along way to easing your friend's pain.

Thanks Susan for a memorable weekend!