Tesfaye Migraine Patient Interview Report

Introduction Tesfaye* was born and raised in the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. When he was 26 he moved to the U.S. after winning the DV lottery visa program. He is now 35 years old and all his immediate family members live in Ethiopia. He is a college graduate and work as a department manager at a Home depot store. In addition, he is fluent in both Amharic and English languages. I know Tesfaye for about 7 years now and consider him to be one of my best friends. Similarly, my immediate family live back in Ethiopia, which happens to be common among our circle of friends. Thus, there is a strong bond and support between us, especially during tough times such as an illness. According to Tesfaye, he has migraine as far back as he remembers. I have seen him sick with his migraine and accompanied him during his several ER visits. I chose to interview him since he has been experiencing migraine for a long time. Based on the interview, he has an intermediate level of health literacy. However, he has the initiative to understand any health information either by reading or researching on-line. In addition, he grew up in a city and attended a school that follows similar curriculum as western schools. Thus, he has a positive …show more content…
He recognizes patterns that cause the illness and its follow up symptoms. For instance, he identifies dehydration, poor diet and sleep deprivation as a cause. He also consistently mentioned that during an episode of his migraine, he has a high intolerance for light, sound or movement. Interestingly, his mother also experience similar intolerance to those stimuli. Additionally, when comparing the migraine episodes from childhood to now, he recognizes that it has progressed or intensified. His current episodes affect his daily activities compared to his childhood. However, he mentioned that he didn’t get enough attention as a child for his