Mentoring
At PT last night, I met a 25 yo woman who was struggling not to cry as they were putting her on the estim and ice packs. I started some small talk with her - telling her about my coping mechanism of throwing stuffed animals against the wall when the pain gets that bad. And then she started asking me how long I'd been dealing with my pain, how doctors treated me, how I managed day by day - all of those questions that people with chronic pain want to know the answer to, but don't always know who they can ask.
I spent 20 minutes talking with her, explaining my journey (and telling her how lucky she was that someone was willing to recognize her pain as real when she was that young. Most of us are never that "lucky"). I kept reminding her that she's not alone, and having people she can talk with who understand when it gets that bad really helps.
It helped make me feel better, as well. If I'd had the choice, I would never have learned all of this firsthand. However, at least everything I've learned can maybe help someone else have less of a bad journey.
She doesn't have anyone in her life who understands chronic pain. Her family tries, but does a horrible job from what she says. They always ask the dreaded "How are you doing?" question and expect her to have a good answer. *shudder* I impulsively gave her my number. It might end up being a mistake, but for the moment I feel good about it.
talons / Rake your talons / Link
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I spent 20 minutes talking with her, explaining my journey (and telling her how lucky she was that someone was willing to recognize her pain as real when she was that young. Most of us are never that "lucky"). I kept reminding her that she's not alone, and having people she can talk with who understand when it gets that bad really helps.
It helped make me feel better, as well. If I'd had the choice, I would never have learned all of this firsthand. However, at least everything I've learned can maybe help someone else have less of a bad journey.
She doesn't have anyone in her life who understands chronic pain. Her family tries, but does a horrible job from what she says. They always ask the dreaded "How are you doing?" question and expect her to have a good answer. *shudder* I impulsively gave her my number. It might end up being a mistake, but for the moment I feel good about it.
talons / Rake your talons / Link
This entry was originally posted at http://merhawk.dreamwidth.org/521830.html. Please comment there. If you don't currently have a DW account, you can use OpenID or create your own account for free.