I was honored and privileged to receive an award from the American Academy of Pain Management. I was the first "patient" recipient and a keynote speaker, but most importantly, I had the ears of over 350 pain docs from all over the world! I was able to give them an hour's worth of what life is like for a person in pain trying to deal with the medical system. Most were shocked to find out how hard it is for us to get treatment or to be believed. Granted, I was preaching to the choir because these doctors show up once a year to find out, and share what's new in thew pain care industry. When I read the class titles I was amazed at what knowledge was being shared with these doctors. I got to sit in on many lectures, a lot of it very technical and over my head , but i felt a twinge of hope that the younger, newer pain docs were gonna be a lot more informed abuot us than the "old school" doctors. From this award I was able to speak at medical "finishing" schools, to interns getting ready to go out into the world of pain treatment and dealing with us patients.
( to change the way pain is treated...)
Pain, and pain patients desperately need to be treated differently than they are in this country. The Socialist countries are making us look bad. We put "promote the general welfare..." in the Declaration for a reason. We were supposed to be the standard bearer of taking care of our own. People are always against the government providing help for people, but it's this help that made us different. Taxes pay for these amenities. We must never do away with these things. They make sure, not only the citizens are covered, but the future is covered also. These benefits give our children a fighting chance. Obamacare is just one category. 20 million people now have medical coverage to get care for their diseases, most being chronic pain patients. "But you look good!", or in Nicole Hemmenway's famous book title, "No! It's not in my head!"
This is something most pain patients face. I met very few you could look at and notice their disability straightaway. Something cancer patients rarely have to face, probably because so much money goes into advertising and ads make your brand well known. So don't be uptight about using a cane or walker in public. It lets them know you are disabled. |
If you would like to receive a free package of pain educational documents, email me at this link. The pack age includes: A Pain Cycle chart, A "Take your Walk" booklet, Articles fashioned to your specific pain problems.
This package should be a good starter to learning about Pain and should be very helpful in recognizing things you can do to make your days smoother. My emails include my phone number. You can call me if you need a helping voice. |