After becoming paraplegic from a car accident, Cynthia resisted PainManagement until she realized it was not a sign of weakness. Read how she moved up on the happiness scale by putting her MentalHealth first.
Over the following months, my mother and grandmother swooped in to help Brianna and me get back to some sense of normalcy. I continued going to outpatient therapy to strengthen my back and upper body. I may have been a gym rat before the accident, but now I was working out muscles that had never been used before. It could be challenging.People often think that if you can no longer use your legs, you can no longer feel them. This is not the case.
I lived without any pain treatment for years. And for a while it was okay. I found fitness and freedom in swimming, and I still swim as often as I can. But nothing would quiet the pain that was piping through me all day and night like a sparking electrical cord.My breaking point came, surprisingly, a couple of years ago in the form of a toothache. I went to the dentist and had some work done and was given a low dose of opioid pain medication.
I’m also keeping up with a tight fitness regimen and doing a rehab wellness program with an outpatient therapist. This helps soften the pain, too.other pain management tactics, including exercise and outpatient therapy, are necessary forces of good in my life. Just as I only recently have become comfortable admitting that chronic pain wasn’t just hurting my body; it was also hurting my mind and my relationships.
It’s been 14 years since my life-changing car accident. It’s only been two years since I’ve learned that it’s okay to treat the pain in the way that works for me. Who knows where I’ll be in two years from now? But I’m aiming for a good 8 on that happiness scale.Our Real Women, Real Stories are the authentic experiences of real-life women.
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