Pain Awareness Month is Over; Pain Still Exists

My daughter reminded me this morning that I haven’t blogged in a while. I know and I promise I’ve been thinking about it. Once September – Pain Awareness Month – ended, I was exhausted and needed to rest. So, let me catch you up on life…

After our local ABC TV station did a story on pain, the rains came … so the story didn’t make it to air as scheduled. But, it did make it … on October 2. Please take a look – click here to see TV segment – ABC did a great job of getting out the message. THANKS TISHA!

I pretty much ignored my own body during September, so now I’ve started physical therapy for tendonitis in my shoulder and of course the underlying cause is T5 and the weak muscles in that area and the compensation I do to protect the back. Let the increased pain and irritated nerves begin (again). Hopefully, a couple of weeks PT will help and the hurt will lessen.

I also returned to counseling. It’s always good to have an impartial (and smart) person to talk to. Rebecca and I talked about how frustrated I get working with ‘stupid’ people. She helped me realize that these people were not ‘stupid;’ they just performed differently than I expected or desired. We also decided that the frustration is exaggerated because I am exhausted so my first priority is REST so I can function normally (for me) again.

And finally, pain still exists and I am still focused on the North Carolina legislators and their current discussions on what to do about Rx drug abuse/addiction/diversion. While I agree that problem should be addressed, changes should NOT negatively impact the rights and privacy of people with pain. I hope I get to tell them that message next week at their committee meeting.