Dehenna Davison (1993-) was born in South Yorkshire, England. After studying British Politics and Legislative Studies at the University of Hull, she was elected as MP for Bishop Auckland during the 2019 general election. [I hope that’s right, because it comes from Wikipedia and as an Australian, the titles and places aren’t familiar.]
On 18 September 2023, at the age of 30, Ms Davison resigned as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State due to her chronic migraine.
One article (here) noted that Ms Davison resigned because (in a similar way that I’ve referenced to ‘running on empty‘) her chronic migraine left her unable to perform her job competently:
“On a bad-head day, I’d worry that I’d be judged as weak or unreliable for cancelling work commitments, but I also knew that if I turned up and pushed through, I wouldn’t be firing on even one cylinder, let alone all of them” – Dehenna Davison.
In the same article, she states emphatically that a migraine is not just a headache, rather, “…migraine is a debilitating, whole-body neurological condition that can have a wide range of symptoms. Head pain, visual aura, nausea, light and sound sensitivity, dizziness, irritability, lack of ability to concentrate and difficulty finding words – the latter especially unhelpful for a politician.”
To her credit, since leaving her position, Ms Davison has been fighting for other migraineurs: “Migraine treatment is too complicated, too slow and, for many people, too expensive. This has to change.” According to the article, CGRP treatment is her next option, and she is hopeful of a more ‘normal’ future.
Here’s an abbreviated copy of her resignation letter, taken from her Twitter page in which she mentions that ‘battling’ chronic migraine has had a ‘great impact’ on her ability to do her job; “Some days I’m fine, but on others it is difficult, if not impossible, to keep up with the demands of ministerial life.”
I find Ms Davison’s story completely relatable. I too gave up my position in the company I worked for as I was excruciatingly aware that whilst I was performing to the best of my ability, I was not giving the role the attention it deserved. I was fortunate to have enough money in savings to be able to do this, and for a short time at least, focus on healing instead. As such, I was ‘lucky’. Remaining unemployed to heal, even for a few weeks, is not a luxury open to everyone. It’s part of why the decision to ‘medically retire’ yourself is such a difficult one and why I wish such a disabling diagnosis could qualify people for disability support or a pension. (Perhaps it IS supported in your country.)
Here’s hoping that Ms Davison finds the help she needs to improve her quality of living. Here’s to all of you too, who might feel unseen or unheard in your daily struggles against this diabolical condition, trying to keep working, firing on one cylinder, day after day – I see you – and I applaud you.
Take care, Linda xox
The Mindful Migraine 
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