Finding Ourselves in the Flames

CRPS is a monster. The pain is like nothing else. It steals our joy and seeks to steal our life. And in many ways it succeeds. It changes us. It forces us to face our weakness and our strength. It forces us to draw on everything we are, were and will be in order to survive each day. It forces us to change our passions, our perceptions and our expectations.

CRPS is more than just pain. It takes who we once were and twists who we will be. It warps our world into one of fear and loss. And the only way out is medication, spinal cord stimulators, shots, physical and emotional therapy, distractions, heating pads and any other form of pain management we can try.

CRPS turns us into desperate shells incapable of living life how we imagined it would be. It teaches us desperation. It forces us to face pain and suffering. It challenges us to live one day at a time, one minute of every hour. It demands we find hope and strength from the deepest part of our being. And when we can find joy and hope in the pain, we can survive and thrive.

We must acknowledge the challenges ahead as opportunities to gain mental and emotional strength. We must embrace the pain and understand that it makes us some of the strongest people in the world. When we find hope we can overcome the flames and we become nothing short of being superheroes.

Capable of so much more,

Jana

P.S.: Flame on.