Pain Awareness Month 2018: Reflection
Pain Awareness Month, established by the US Pain Foundation in 2001, was created to educate, advocate, and alleviate pain for sufferers. I believe this mission is profoundly needed in the disabled community. It is critical to share and educate about experiences we all share to aid in individuals who are well to gain empathy for individuals in chronic pain.
This poem is a glimpse into my reality. I hope it resonates and shows someone they're not alone. I also hope that it lights a fire of empathy in individuals who are well to maintain sympathy and care for individuals who are struggling with chronic pain.
Awkward. Uncomfortable. Unreasonable. Isolation. Pain.
This is why we fight.
Once standing,
Then on the ground,
Without any clues
As to Why I fell down,
This is life with POTS.
Awkward.
Awaken in the night,
Pain Monster the only one in sight,
Random joints that swell and bruise,
Making it impossible,
To function normally in any room.
This is life with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.
Uncomfortable.
When nausea strikes,
After each meal,
The act of eating,
Unreasonable.
This is life with Gastroparesis.
Like a face on the edge of a picture,
Blurred and faded,
Kept out of bright light,
Kept inside the night,
Never free within this life,
This is life with Chronic Migraine.
Isolation.
Nerves misfire like a gun,
The explosion of pain,
Cannot be undone.
Over in a flash,
But haunting me for days.
This is life with Trigeminal Neuralgia.
Pain.
This is why we fight.
~@.the.technicolor.zebra
To learn more about Pain Awareness Month please visit https://uspainfoundation.org/programs/fundraising-2/collaborations/pain-awareness-month/ and share their information with fellow pain warriors you know.