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From: jqtaylor@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com (John Quill Taylor)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Chronic Pain!
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Date: 30 Nov 90 18:03:44 GMT
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Fidonet: Chronic Pain Conference

Index Number: 12083

Regarding my comments to Cliff about the physical and psychological
aspects of chronic pain:

When I read your account, I immediately became defensive when you said,
"I didn't feel like doing anything." Now that I read your further
explanation, I understand better what you have experienced. Let me explain
why I over-reacted. Also, if you have recently become afflicted with
chronic pain, or live with or know someone with chronic pain, maybe my
further elaboration on the physical and psychological aspects will
help you to better understand them. I'll start with a (probably poor)
analogy:

A few years back, after knee surgery, I spent some time in a wheelchair
and a long time on crutches. I didn't "do" anything or "go" anywhere,
because I never learned how. I might have felt some of the psychological
aspects of a person who loses the use of his or her legs, but I knew I
would walk again -- my mind was set on it. Three years later, I'm running
10Ks in under 40 minutes. I'll never be a sprinter again, but I'll never
forget my week in a wheelchair. 

Contrast this with people who live every day without legs: They DO go
places -- didn't one recently cross the United States in a wheelchair?!
They have struggled and won several victories: accessable parking, 
elevators, access on some busses and vans, etc., and all of this is
good. More still needs to be done.

Now, my point: People who live with chronic pain ALSO DO THINGS! In the
nineteen years since my neck injury, I have: completed high school,
received a Bachelor's Degree and am entered in "Who's Who in American
Colleges & Universities", gotten married, had a son, gotten divorced,
have a job (writing) for eleven years that I enjoy. And I am almost
always in moderate pain, and sometimes in severe pain. After twenty years
of chronic pain, I am getting good at dealing with it. Although each
chronic pain patient is different, many of us have the ability to
succeed in life. Psychologically, chronic pain produces an entire
spectrum of emotions. These can be overwhelming in the first weeks and
months, but eventually one can learn and develop skills to deal with
chronic pain. For those who do it day by day, minute by minute, I'm sure
they will understand this. For those who have not experienced chronic
pain: sometimes, it's not only worse than you imagine, it's worse than
you CAN imagine; most of the time, however, for me at least, "I can
handle it." --JQT