February 2012
19 posts
1 tag
“She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her away, she adjusted...”
– Elizabeth Edwards
6 tags
If you don't have it, you just don't get it...
One of my pain related pet peeves is that some, let’s be honest, most, people don’t understand what it is like to live with chronic pain. They take their perfectly healthy, pain-free experience and try to apply it to the cluster-fuck that is your body and life. I have not been able to live through an entire day without being subjected to “advice” or a strange form of pity...
4 tags
project3x5 asked: Thank you so much, Sarah! YAY indeed! I also just wanted to say how much I loved and related to your post yesterday about going out after the doctors appointment. You are so inspiring and have worded it so beautifully! I did just the same thing this weekend, and while it was so difficult and has caused another flare up - I have a huge smile. I would not be able to do things like that if it...
8 tags
I F**king Did It!
Tonight I was going to write another post detailing my latest struggles with chronic pain, but I have good news to share so I will save my mental gymnastics about pain for another night.
For the majority of my life I have focused on education and thoroughly enjoyed learning. This passion has not faded with time.
I graduated from high school before my 16th birthday, because I skipped 7th and 8th...
6 tags
12 tags
5 tags
What a Pain in the Back
Today I was trying to express my frustration to someone, and I accidentally said “it is such a pain in the back.” Talk about a Freudian slip! Most people would have used the term “neck” or “a**,” but neither of those hurt when I become frustrated. Rather, whenever anything is bothering me it causes the pain in my back to flare up. Frustration, annoyance, and...
6 tags
Pissed Off At My Pain
Today I am unbelievably frustrated by my pain. The throbbing and stabbing pain that is radiating through my back and down into my tailbone is driving me freaking insane. Most days I can put on my game face, work, smile, and get through the day. However, today I am just plain pissed off at my pain.
I know that the pain is part of me, but it feels like some external force that decided to...
4 tags
4 tags
9 tags
Pain Changes You
My friends and family always tell me “we miss the old you.” In the beginning, I would tell them that the “old” me would be back. After months of pain my response became “me, too.” I did miss the “old” me and wanted that version of myself back more than anything. However, over the last 10 months of living with chronic and severe pain, I realize...
“Without pain, how could we know joy?’ This is an old argument in the field of...”
– (via project3x5)
Exactly!
3 tags
5 tags
3 tags
8 tags
Can you quantify it?
Throughout my time dealing with pain specialists and doctors who are treating my bulging discs, spinal/neck injuries, chronic back pain and related depression always ask me the same question: how much does it hurt on a scale of 1-10? One being no pain and ten being the worst pain possible. How depressed do you feel on a scale of 1-10? One being euphorically happy and 10 being suicidal.
Every...
9 tags
6 tags
Moving Forward
Just before my accident last year, my mom sold my childhood home with the intention of applying for a new job in California near one of her oldest and dearest friends. However, after my accident my mom could not bear to live far away from me. She decided to stay for as long as I need her and move after my injuries were better.
While I am still hurting, I do not need my mom’s assistance...