Don't Stay In It, Go Though It!

Posted on August 28, 2017 by James Hartley, One of Thousands of Family Coaches on Noomii.

The power of “within.”  What does that mean? To put it simply, we have a lot of power within ourselves if that is what we believe and believing is key. During the year 2005 I found myself at the beginning of a very difficult time in my life. I began to experience pain that was very debilitating; not daily at first but mostly after exercise or some form of physical labour. Things quickly got worse to the point that I could not drive without experiencing anxiety attacks for fear that I would not be able to get home or even continue to my destination due to the extreme discomfort in my neck and shoulder area. Finally I found my self off work and bed ridden; only able to stand up for short periods at a time before I would need to lay back down. The pain I was experiencing was chronic, 24/7. After many trips back and forth to the doctor attempting to find out what was going on, it was discovered that I had an overactive thyroid. The thyroid imbalance explained some of what was happening but did not explain it all. You see, symptoms I was experiencing were bouts of high energy followed by a crash, fast heart rate, and a multitude of other crazy things going on with my body; things that could be attributed to my thyroid but did not explain the chronic pain.  My thyroid condition finally became controlled and the symptoms I was experiencing slowly diminished however, I still had chronic pain. 

When you are going through a situation as I am discussing here today, it can become frustrating as you lose your ability to enjoy the life you were used to for so many years. I was in my early 40’s and the limitations I experienced were affecting not only me, but my family. What becomes apparent with chronic pain is that you can look perfectly healthy and people can have expectations of you that they do not realize are difficult and maybe not even possible for you.  So for the past 12 years I have been continuously rehabilitating. I have been to a multitude of different practitioners in an attempt to understand what was causing my pain and, after some physical probing in my primary pain areas coupled with good assessment, it was discovered I have a loose shoulder due to overuse and some deterioration in my cervical spine. I have tried a multitude of modalities of treatment: physiotherapy, osteotherapy, massage therapy, laser therapy, chiropractic, and acupuncture. What I found out over the past 12 years is that you need to shop around as you may have found the right modality but not the right practitioner. After seeing many physiotherapists, I found myself walking past a  physio clinic on my way to work.  I read a description of the area of focus of a physiotherapist working within the clinic; musculoskeletel.   I had been constantly told that the pain issues I was experiencing were musculoskeletel; so I thought I would give her a try, as at that point, I had nothing to lose. 

During this time I was experiencing daily pain and was finding it very difficult to drive any distance.  My work required that I be in community where I would be with clients as a support person and it was taking all I had within me to manage to keep going. I started to arrange my lifestyle around surviving from one day to the next.  This involved a great deal of planning;  how I would get from one place to the next via the shortest route while avoiding traffic as sitting in traffic was hugely uncomfortable and could mean the difference between getting to my destination or needing to park the car and get out as the pain would be so intense. I gave up so many enjoyable activities; no sports of any kind and my weight training was over.  I could not even look at a gym as my body could not tolerate resistance exercise.  Then I met the physiotherapist I had read about on the clinic wall.  She asked about what had brought me to her practice and I explained that I had read a bit about her specialisation while passing the clinic.  She asked how long I had been experiencing the pain issues, what had I done for treatment in the past  and how many practitioners I had seen over the years in an attempt to address my pain issues. I told her everything I went through said that I was still in so much discomfort, that daily life was a colossal challenge. Her response to me was, and I will never forget it “So what do you think I can do to help you?”  I was thinking in my mind  "I don’t f%&*en know but your sign says to me I should give you a go and see what happens." 

Well here is where my life changes for the better.  My new physio (Rhonda) did the most thorough assessment I had ever had done and she said there were several things she felt needed to be addressed in order to help me. She also told me she was not going to waste my money on appointments as most of the work I would do at home. Rhonda helped me to get my life back and as I went forward with her plan for my recovery, I slowly began to improve. I did my exercises and I listened to her instruction as I had with all the past practitioners, but this time with positive results. I remember her telling me that I was in the 1% of people who suffer with chronic pain who do not give up on looking for  a solution to improve their condition and in the 2% who actually follow through with the homework given by the practitioner. When I had met Rhonda I had been living with disabling chronic pain for 10 years and although I still have chronic pain today it is much more manageable and still improving 5 years after meeting her. I am extremely thankful and feel blessed for the progress she has helped me to achieve in managing my pain.  My life has improved greatly as a result of her care and knowledge.

What I shared here today has very much to do with the title of this blog.  "Don’t stay in it, go through it" and come out of the situation in better shape. There is so much we learn when we go through trials and tribulations if we are open to exploring the experience and looking for the positives. I have learned so much about myself having gone through the chronic pain and a marriage ending during that time as well.  You learn about how strong you really are. The world can throw a variety of hot messy stuff your way and in order to get through it you need to first believe you can and never give up; no one is promised tomorrow so do what you can today and pick up from where you left off when tomorrow comes. The things I have been through are the things which have shaped me, honed me and made me a wiser person and I am thankful.  Don’t give into adversity but overcome it.   If one thing does not get you there, try another; try, try, try until you find something that works and you too will grow from the experience.

There is a solution for every situation and the sun is always shining somewhere!