Pain Sucks @ MindSay

To sum up ... PAIN SUCKS!  There is no one who looks forward to pain, no one who gets excited about hurting, yet the vast majority of us survive our pain and move on to our LIFE.  If the pain is an ongoing thing, we endure it and grow from it.  If it threatens our life, we rise to the challenge, which in my mind is defeating it.  We really are amazing creatures! 

A Few Trite Observations

Pain ...

• in time, this, too, shall pass (sooner or later), or at least become less "tender"
• is a catalyst for change;  it's like a fork in the road where decisions, choices are vital 
• is a normal part of the human experience (I can't emphasize this enough!)  It is not abnormal to hurt!  Just don't get too "comfortable" in the pain and accept it as a permanent dwelling place.  I heard someone say once, "If you're going through hell, don't stop!  Keep walking till you see the light of day... and then RUN!"
• running from pain, hiding it, denying it ... are counter productive in the long run.  Find the root source of the pain, whether physical or emotional, and face it ... with help from friends and faith!

Finally, to those of us who have friends and / or loved ones who are in pain ... Sometimes there simply are no right words.  At these times, let caring speak through you - a touch, a card, a distraction, a friendly voice.  Acknowledge pain's presence, but make sure you distinguish between the pain and your friend / loved one.   Pain is not the person, and the person is not pain.  Get it?

If you wish to go deeper into this subject, try C.S Lewis' The Problem of Pain

Moving on ...

~ B

I went to the hospital, finally. My dad finally showed around 4:30. We waited for awhile to see the doctor. I wasn't considered "top priority".

The first doctor came in and when I said spider bite, she knew exactly what she was going to see. However, when I showed her, she was, like "interesting. I haven't seen anything liek this before in my 26 years of being here".

She said it could either be a spider bite of some sort that got extremely infected, or it's a solo outbreak of shingles that got severely infected. The reason my leg hurts and i'm losing the ability to use my knee is because it's right on a major nerve. GREAT.

She said she needed a second opinion, so a guy showed up (another doctor) and he said in his 30 years workign there, he hasn't seen anythign like it. Go figure! I'm the one who would bring in something strange. whatever. They seemed pretty sure that no spider laid eggs in me though, so no babies for me. I'm not going to be a mother after all...darn.

I got a tetanus shot, and then they gave me meds, and sent me on my way. Said it didn't need to be drained (which I wish it would...i'm in so much pain, and they gave me NO pain meds). Oh well...

They are almost positive it is Shingles though. That blows. I hate being in this pain. :( Sitting down sucks!

Here, to remind you all, is a picture of how it looked last Thursday:

Here is how it looked Sunday morning...

Yes, it got worse, right? Not good....this sucks.