This week I won an award. Migraine awareness wins! It was a very surreal moment for me, I’ve been working in migraine awareness advocacy since 2009. I received a diagnoses in my very early 20s with migraine and later in 2009 with hemiplegic migraine. It was around that time my doctor suggested journaling and Achy Smile was born. Blogging led to national advocacy campaigns and later my shop, Achy Smile Shop.
This blog is full of articles talking all about the different advocacy events my family and I have participated in. The thing is, this award wasn’t possible without you, someone living with or caring for someone with migraine. Achy Smile Shop brings awareness to migraine, hemiplegic migraine, chronic migraine, mental health, and chronic illness with t-shirts, stickers, buttons, mugs, etc. Without you purchasing and wearing or using these items to raise awareness, this award wouldn’t be possible. So I share this with you!!
What award am I talking about? The Social Health Awards by Health Union!! Before this year, the awards were known as the WEGO Health Awards by WEGO Health. Health Union is home to the Social Health Awards and Migraine.com. HU revamped the awards as the Social Health Awards and added a few new categories, one of which I won: Creative Contributor. The Social Health Network website states, “The Creative Contributor category recognizes the individuals taking a creative approach to raising awareness. Think about patient leaders transforming their advocacy into clothing, cards, jewelry shops, comic creation and more! This category celebrates those bringing advocacy to the marketplace.”
I found out I was a finalist in August 2022 and I’ve been a nail biter ever since! This week’s finalists and past finalists/winners participated in the Health Union Connexion virtual conference. The event organization is exceptional and they utilize great technology like Zoom for presentations and Twine for networking. Speaking with advocates across all diseases is so inspiring and motivating to keep going as a patient leader.
My fellow finalists included: Adriane Dellorco – Yoga for Migraine (woohoo!! fellow migraine advocate), Lisa Marie Basile (ankylosing spondylitis), Tiffany Kairos (epilepsy), Bob McEachern (follicular lymphoma), and Amy Grantham (alzheimer’s and dementia). I mean, just look at this list! These are some amazing advocates who give their all to their work. And just in case you were curious about my profile: Erica Nicole Carrasco – Achy Smile (migraine)!
@achysmile Yea…I said Holy crap! 😂 Migraine awareness wins y’all!!! 🏆 @WegoHealth #SocialHealthAwards #MigraineAwareness #AchySmile #AchySmileShop ♬ original sound – Migraine Awareness
During a live broadcast at Connexion, Health Union announced that I won the Creative Contributor category and I was stunned! I was in shock, shaking, and I definitely teared up. I have been nominated for various awards within the WEGO Health Awards since 2018 by my amazing friends and followers. Like I mentioned before, this is the first year for the Creative Contributor category and the work we do at Achy Smile Shop definitely “brings advocacy to the marketplace.”
I say we, because I don’t do this alone. My amazing partners include: Chronic Migraine Awareness (CMA), Association of Migraine Disorders (AMD) and their campaign Shades for Migraine (SFM), and The Migraine Warrior by Michelle! Don’t forget the amazing team behind me: Stephen (my amazing husband), Marissa (my go-getter daughter who also lives with episodic vestibular migraine), Noah (my loving son who lives with retinal migraine), and more recently my daughter’s boyfriend – Cameron (he’s always by her side). When I’m in a bind or in over my head, they step in and fill the gaps. Plus, Stephen is one heck of a handsome delivery man.
Before, when I said I’m sharing this award with you, I wasn’t kidding. I am so proud of this migraine family. My success is your success because as I said, without you purchasing items and wearing/using them, there would be no Achy Smile Shop. You share your goodies on your socials and shine a light on migraine, telling your stories, and helping a fellow person living with migraine feel less alone. Thank YOU for all you do!
Migraine awareness wins! You can learn more about the awards process here: https://www.wegohealth.com/2022/05/16/social-health-awards-process/
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