Skip to main content

How Pain Can Actually Save Us

I recall being in middle school and watching a popular talk show one afternoon, I can't remember if it was Jerry Springer, Rickie Lake, or Oprah, but it was during that time frame. The show topic caught my attention when I was supposed to be doing homework. They were interviewing a young girl (around my age or younger at the time) who had a condition in which she felt no pain. Ever. Nothing. Not even the slightest sensation of physical discomfort. I was immediately jealous and curious to learn more about this condition. Over the course of the interview my jealousy transformed into a deep sense of gratitude for the fact that my body was able to experience pain.


This young girl who couldn’t feel pain had a rare genetic condition known as congenital insensitivity. She was interviewed alongside her mother and the two shared how incredibly devastating this condition was to the girl's health and to the entire family's well-being. One example they gave was a scenario of the girl playing on a playground with some friends. During a water break the mom noticed that the daughter's eye was red. As was becoming their routine, the mom excused the daughter from playtime and whisked her off to urgent care unsure if the redness was the result of harmless allergies or if it was caused by something more serious. It turned out that the girl had gotten a grain of sand in her eye and it had been rubbing back and forth across her retina while she laughed, played tag, and enjoyed time with her friends. The girl who felt no pain was completely oblivious to the irritation and threat that was occurring in her eye. Fortunately, the damage wasn't permanent, but if the mother hadn't been so vigilant, the sand could've remained in the eye and this could've led to all sorts of issues including infection and loss of vision.  

Several times each day, because their daughter had no pain signals, one of her parents would have to do a full scan of her body to visualize whether or not there was anything threatening or harmful happening on their daughter's body. This impacted the family's daily schedule and quality of life along with their daughter’s social life, self-esteem and mental health. 
 
Pain varies from mild to severe, chronic to acute. It exists across physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions. It can be at times unbearable and excruciating. While for some it is a welcomed, safe and familiar sensation as opposed to feeling nothing or a sense of emptiness. I'm not saying we need to celebrate our pain or minimize how we have been hurt or wounded, but pain is more than a state to be avoided or feared. Pain can be a messenger, an opportunity, a teacher that can motivate and compel us to action. It keeps us alert to danger and threat.  If we pay attention to it, it can actually save us.

Pay attention to your pain. Listen to what its trying to tell you. Seek proper care. The work you do of caring for your loved one is so important and good. Take care of yourself so that you can continue to care for the ones you love without losing yourself.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Church Burnout

I have a confession. I am conflicted about returning to pre-pandemic church activities and involvement. This is a particularly off-limits confession for me because I am married to a Pastor. Yet, I feel compelled to share this because I know that there are so many people who have a similar hesitancy and reluctance to jump back into the level of church involvement they had pre-pandemic. With restrictions loosening and vaccinations increasing, we have a decision to make (actually we have many decisions to make and if you struggle with decision-fatigue please check out Emily P. Freeman with The Next Right Thing podcast).  Easter Sunday 2021 marked my first Sunday back in church in over a year. Some people might read this and wonder if I haven’t been going to church because I’ve been scared of the virus or assume our church hasn’t been having services. I did not stay home because I was afraid of the virus and our church started back with services last summer on a smaller scale and wit...
Post a Comment
Read more

When Children are Impacted by Grief and Loss

Well meaning parents and caregivers often try to shield children from the experience of grief and loss and for good reason. Grief and loss are acutely painful experiences. However, regardless of our best efforts to shield these innocent hearts, children are intuitive and whether they can verbalize it or not they sense when something isn't right. Rather than leave their little minds to try and make sense of what's going on around them, I argue that parents and caregivers should invite children into the experience of loss and grief so that they can encounter it with a caring adult and guide at their side.  Here are a few ways I encourage parents and caregivers to approach children about issues related to grief and loss: 1- Be open and honest and keep in mind that honesty does not mean revealing every minute detail and aspect of the situation. Simply paint an overall picture of the situation and allow the child the freedom to ask question and seek more information on their own. Le...
Post a Comment
Read more

My Fenced In Backyard and Boundaries

We are having a fence installed in our backyard. Its not a privacy fence as we still want to be able to see and interact with our neighbors on every side but at about five feet tall it is tall enough that our dog won't be able to jump over the fence. For the past month and a half, every time the puppy needs to go out to the bathroom, one of us has to go out with him on a leash. Its gotten just a bit annoying (especially on those rainy days). I can't wait to be able to open the back door and send him out knowing that he can't leave our yard and can mosey his little heart all over the place before he finds the perfect spot and all while I'm still indoors! Its amazing how a boundary, whether its a physical fence or another type of boundary can actually bring freedom once its established and maintained. I've been thinking about and speaking on boundaries a lot recently in my personal and professional life. For one, its because I've been doing a lot of landscaping an...
Post a Comment
Read more