I’ve been struggling with a lot of RA pain lately because of not being able to take my Enbrel shot for the last four weeks. I’ve had some sores that wouldn’t heal and needed targeted care from the wound clinic. Enbrel suppresses the immune system and can slow down the healing process. I wrote the following poem a few months ago, reading it again helped me put my current situation in prospective.
Some of you may remember reading it on another blog, but I thought it might be time to repost it for my new readers. (Besides, that blog no longer exists.
PAIN
Pain, what is pain?
Some things hurt more than others.
A papercut can send me “to the moon”
Yet, everyday arthritis pain is ignored.
What makes the difference?
Familiarity creates numbness.
Living daily with pain.
Ignoring, accepting, and overcoming.
Subtle pain niggles at the mind.
I feel, yet, I don’t feel, It’s all one and the same.
Sudden, unexpected, mind alert
Unfamiliar pain cries for attention.
What’s the cause? What’s the cure?
Is it serious or a temporary nuisance?
Don’t be a hypochondriac
Be aware, but not dramatic.
Foreign pain subsides, Back to normal.
Pain, that is pain.
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What do you think of when you experience pain? I’d love to hear your thoughts on living with and through pain.
My thoughts exactly, thejuicyjoint. That is why I try to write what I feel; I want others to understand our life living with RA.
I also have had to suspend my treatment (remicade) due to an abscess, so your opening comment grabbed my attention. I also like the line “familiarity creates numbness”. I am looking forward to the day that I am so,familiar with all my pain that I numb out to it!
Alison, Thank you for reading my poem.
I also like that line a lot. People often ask me how I can handle so much pain; that is my reply.
It is always amazing to me that others can write about things so intimately that I feel and can not put into words. Thank you for being able to what I can not.
Trish, I’m glad you liked my poem. I love it when I can put words to the way others feel, but can’t express.
Wow, this is powerful and something most patients with RA/IA can relate to. I especially love the line, “Familiarity creates numbness”. I feel that most people ask me when I am in pain and I try to tell them that it’s chronic, it’s everywhere, and it’s always. There are some pains that you become accustomed to. Then, out of nowhere, there becomes this new sort of pain. I can relate to this poem and it is well written. Thank you so much for sharing and may god bless you.
My last reply didn’t post and it was so brilliant ☺
My thoughts exactly, thejuicyjoints (love the name ☺) I try to write in a way that others can understand our challenges- and triumphs- living with RA. Thanks for leaving a comment.