THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:

Never in a million years did I ever think I’d be where I am today. I was a happy, healthy, active, lively being. Doing a job I loved, trained in a field I loved, volunteering and helping others - which I loved, living a life I loved. And now, here I sit, living a life I never thought I’d have to live, mourning the loss of the life I once had . . .

We wake up and live virtually every day feeling like we have the worst unrelenting flu in the world. Our bodies feel like they’re wrapped tight in a cocoon of fire, lined with nails, fed by a constant current of electrical shocks. Our beds are ‘nests’ made up of memory foam, pillows, heating pads, fabricated ‘bridges’ to keep covers off the most painful parts of our bodies and whatever else we can find to try to make lying down comfortable. If we’re lucky, we might even mana

Managing chronic pain is a full time job. After years of living with it, my ability to manage it and continue to work full time came to an end. ‘It’ then became my full time job.