It's certainly an interesting time in the treatment of pain. Body in Mind has a link to an article in The Australian (a national broadsheet newspaper) titled: “The champion cyclist, her mysterious excruciating pain and her unconventional road to recovery” written by Christine Jackman (The Australian, 24 March 2012. Click on the link for full article) I also found a piece in the dutch language magazine Elsevier (No 11, 17 march 2012, pg62:) “Why pain isn't needed” (Waarom pijn niet nodig is); talking about the increase of multidisciplinary pain-clinics in treating pain as a condition and management techniques to lessen the impact it has on peoples' lives.
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Friday, 16 March 2012
Snapshots of the sublime in fire and ice...
It is the simple things that bring the most pleasure. Sometimes you wake up one day feeling much lighter than you did yesterday. As you drink your morning cup of coffee or tea; that moment before you take your first sip, when you inhale deeply that lovely scent and you feel instantly relaxed. Or the smell of salt and sea, to the sound of seagulls and waves.
After a period of gloom, a tiny ray of sunshine pokes through the curtains and blinds you in its brightness. It's those unplanned moments of fun that take you by surprise; allowing you to remember who you were before the pain - who you still are underneath it all.
Even better, is when you can't keep the grin off your face and your cheeks hurt from all the laughing. When you listen and all you can hear is the music; Pain only an irritating buzz next to its power, and not the siren or lightning it was before. This is it! Fun times work like magic; laughter makes light of the days of darkness.
Believing in magic, in the special things that happen in life can show you just how much there is to live for. You can see this in anything really, in the small gestures; someone who smiles when they speak to you; seeing a lovely sky or sunset; or hearing from an old friend. Or even something bigger...
After a period of gloom, a tiny ray of sunshine pokes through the curtains and blinds you in its brightness. It's those unplanned moments of fun that take you by surprise; allowing you to remember who you were before the pain - who you still are underneath it all.
Even better, is when you can't keep the grin off your face and your cheeks hurt from all the laughing. When you listen and all you can hear is the music; Pain only an irritating buzz next to its power, and not the siren or lightning it was before. This is it! Fun times work like magic; laughter makes light of the days of darkness.
Believing in magic, in the special things that happen in life can show you just how much there is to live for. You can see this in anything really, in the small gestures; someone who smiles when they speak to you; seeing a lovely sky or sunset; or hearing from an old friend. Or even something bigger...
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Finding the energy and being kind to yourself in an indifferent world...
I'm sorry I have been absent. It happens sometimes when you have barely enough energy to get yourself dressed some days, or even eat. It's when the times are bleak that you feel the weight of the pain so much more. Sometimes it gets weary, I don't like to dwell in the crappy things but there are times where it is kind to allow yourself a bit of "sulk time". It is ok to take time to take care of yourself, to nurture yourself by admitting that times are tough.
It's also hard when you know others are going through difficult times. It is hard to have friends, or people you know; who are facing an entirely different fight - one for their lives. It never helps to compare your suffering to another persons'; as it only makes for pity and bad feelings helping no one. Suffering is suffering, no matter the cause. However it does help to see that the world is much bigger out there, and more important things in life! Enjoying what you can do when you can, sometimes you forget your troubles when you're having too much fun!
It's also hard when you know others are going through difficult times. It is hard to have friends, or people you know; who are facing an entirely different fight - one for their lives. It never helps to compare your suffering to another persons'; as it only makes for pity and bad feelings helping no one. Suffering is suffering, no matter the cause. However it does help to see that the world is much bigger out there, and more important things in life! Enjoying what you can do when you can, sometimes you forget your troubles when you're having too much fun!
Sunday, 5 February 2012
Don't dis my abilities and how it feels to be discriminated against...
On 3rd November every year is the International Day of People with a Disability (IDPWD). New South Wales celebrates it with the campaign "Don't DIS my ABILITY" celebrating diversity and the abilities of people who live with disabilities. I really like this campaign, I find it wonderful to have such a great celebration of all the things people CAN do, when the emphasis is continually on what people cannot do.
I have been quiet on this blog. Life has been throwing a lot at me, things that I wish like hell I didn't have to deal with. I have been feeling humilated, depressed and frustrated. Not because of my pain, nor from the challenges that normal living brings. The challenges are not from my disability, but from the way that I am "disabled" by others. The humiliation of begging to be able to have the same opportunities as people who are "able". The frustration of living with a condition that people have no understanding of; of having an upper-limb disability that is even less catered for than lower-limb impairments. I am being discriminated against. And that, that is what is making me feel depressed about my life. It is an awful, terrible feeling. It makes me feel ashamed of who I am.
I have been quiet on this blog. Life has been throwing a lot at me, things that I wish like hell I didn't have to deal with. I have been feeling humilated, depressed and frustrated. Not because of my pain, nor from the challenges that normal living brings. The challenges are not from my disability, but from the way that I am "disabled" by others. The humiliation of begging to be able to have the same opportunities as people who are "able". The frustration of living with a condition that people have no understanding of; of having an upper-limb disability that is even less catered for than lower-limb impairments. I am being discriminated against. And that, that is what is making me feel depressed about my life. It is an awful, terrible feeling. It makes me feel ashamed of who I am.
Friday, 13 January 2012
Body in Mind - Luke Parkitny
It is well established that pain is in the brain. But what happens in the early stages of CRPS to turn a minor injury to something so devastating?
Luke Parkitny talks CRPS at Body in Mind
He is looking into whether there are inflammatory factors involved in the early stages of the disease.
Friday, 6 January 2012
Looking out for a new outlook - new year, the dawn of change...
New year is one of my favourite days of the year. It's the day of resolutions, of dreaming of what the future will bring. Of hoping that this year will top the last. Usually I don't do much at midnight, but my favourite thing is getting up at the crack of dawn to drive to the beach with my mother in Australia. We stand there in the the semi-light, watching the sky get brighter and brighter. All of a sudden, a sharp shard of sunlight would break over the mountain and paint the ocean in shades of orange and yellow.
Getting up for the first sunrise of the year was always something special with Mum. We love the beach, and to see the very first time the sun graced the new year; before it hit anywhere else in the world (well, apart from New Zealand and the other Pacific Islands on our side of the date line!). It always brought me a lot of hope for what the new year would bring. Of course, sometimes the new year brought in more difficulties. Nonetheless, I always had a small wish for the pain to go away; that maybe this year would bring remission from my symptoms and less pain. That has never happened. However, from the sunrise of 2011; it brought with it a big change in my attitude. Passing my 10 year mark really changed how I viewed my life.
10 years was a huge hurdle. Once I reached that; I knew that life would never be so difficult as it was during the first decade. I know myself a lot better now; I see how far I have come. I've done more things than I could have ever dreamed of. I know my condition much better than anyone, doctors included. I am finally in control - not of the pain, but of how I manage it - I am in control of my life!
Getting up for the first sunrise of the year was always something special with Mum. We love the beach, and to see the very first time the sun graced the new year; before it hit anywhere else in the world (well, apart from New Zealand and the other Pacific Islands on our side of the date line!). It always brought me a lot of hope for what the new year would bring. Of course, sometimes the new year brought in more difficulties. Nonetheless, I always had a small wish for the pain to go away; that maybe this year would bring remission from my symptoms and less pain. That has never happened. However, from the sunrise of 2011; it brought with it a big change in my attitude. Passing my 10 year mark really changed how I viewed my life.
10 years was a huge hurdle. Once I reached that; I knew that life would never be so difficult as it was during the first decade. I know myself a lot better now; I see how far I have come. I've done more things than I could have ever dreamed of. I know my condition much better than anyone, doctors included. I am finally in control - not of the pain, but of how I manage it - I am in control of my life!
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