The Pain Is Real

摘要

It is easy to assume that if a person does not appear to be in pain, then they are not experiencing it. However, people often learn to cope with pain in order to fulfill their daily responsibilities as parents, employees, and spouses. They cannot put their lives on hold because they are hurting. Approximately 10 years ago, I began to have hip pain so debilitating that I could not get out of bed. It was difficult to explain to my 3 children that I could not play at the park or prepare dinner because my mind was focused solely on the pain. However, I never admitted what I was going through. Instead, I trudged forward and tried to be the parent they deserved. To find relief, I tried to find a physician who could identify and fix the cause of my pain and not just prescribe pain medications. I visited many physicians, but no one believed that the pain was as grueling as I described. Finally, I found a physician who believed my pain was real. After multiple tests and procedures, he determined that I had a tear in my hip labrum. The physician referred me to a major hospital 2 hours from my home. I tried physical therapy but it worsened the pain. The next step was surgery, and my hip injury required 2 surgeries in the same year. During this time, I had to quit my job as a surgical radiology technologist specializing in pain procedures. I spent the majority of my time in bed, at the physician's office, or undergoing physical therapy.