Welcome to a special patient spotlight series in celebration of Dizzy Parents Day, hosted by the Dizzy Moms Club in partnership with VeDA. By sharing these real-life journeys and practical ‘dizzy parenting hacks,’ our goal is to help parents navigating chronic dizziness find their way out of isolation and into a supportive village. Each feature highlights the voice, vulnerability, and inspiring resilience of a parent navigating an invisible vestibular disorder.
Kayla’s Story
What is your specific diagnosis (or type of chronic dizziness), and how old are your child(ren)?
Vestibular Migraine. My son is 14 months old.
What is a “dizzy parenting hack” or tool you rely on to get through the week?
My biggest “hack” is pacing myself throughout the week and scheduling in restful moments to de-stimulate. It’s not always possible but I try my best. I also get outside for walks or runs and I have a small VRT and strength routine that I like to follow.
How do you talk to your children about your dizziness in a way they can understand?
My little guy can’t understand my dizziness yet but I still talk to him about it!
What has been the most challenging or surprising emotional hurdle of parenting with an invisible illness?
The most challenging hurdle of parenting with an invisible illness has been learning to accept it and accept that this is a chronic illness. Motherhood and my vestibular journey happened at the same time for me, so I had (and sometimes still do) a lot of grief for what I had envisioned my maternity leave and parenthood would look like.
What is a moment where you felt incredibly proud of yourself as a parent, despite your symptoms?
I can think of a lot of little ones, but one in particular: I had a little scare one morning where I thought I was about to have a big flare up/VM attack. It didn’t end up happening, but my anxiety went up, and I was feeling very hypervigilant. I messaged my husband at work to be on standby and told him he might have to come home. I used A LOT of self-talk, ate a small snack, rested for a bit, and just went a few minutes at a time. I ended up driving my son to his swimming lessons, got in the pool with him and the other moms, did the whole swim lesson, and drove home that morning, and my husband didn’t have to come home!
How did finding an ally network or a support group (like the Dizzy Moms Club or VeDA) shift how you view your diagnosis?
Having the DMC support group has been such a blessing. To connect with people who just understand and can relate and echo the same feelings, fears, confusions, and hopes with vestibular disorders, with the layer of parenting, has made a world of difference. Because both motherhood and vestibular stuff happened at the same time for me, I really grieved the thought of how maternity leave and parenthood were going to be for me. I had a vision of how it was going to be, and my vestibular diagnosis changed that, along with the person I was before motherhood. I don’t know anyone else apart from DMC members and social media who have gone through this, so having this community has been really helpful and supportive, especially with the parenting piece. Having the DMC and hearing how other moms are adjusting their days to meet their needs while parenting has been really great and also gives me permission to not feel like I have to be and do everything. We share wins, challenges, and our experiences with the other moms, which gives me bravery and courage to do things that I might feel are outside my comfort zone. Seeing others live their lives and not let vestibular disorders stop them from living a meaningful life, and also going on to have a family, gives me the confidence and push to know that I can do it too.
Why is an international advocacy day like Dizzy Parents Day so important to you, and what message of encouragement would you send to another parent who is currently suffering alone right now?
An international advocacy day is important to me because I had never heard of vestibular migraines before being diagnosed, so not only is it something not widely known, but it’s also an invisible illness, which makes it that much easier to suffer alone. My message to another parent suffering alone is that on the tough days, just go slow. One hour at a time, one task at a time. Be kind to yourself. We don’t have to do it all today.