This post is inspired by my Botox injections appointment for last Friday getting cancelled and pushed back for over a month.

So today’s reality – I am hurting, and my legs are bruised and swollen from giving myself Toradol injections to get a little relief.

With that, I’m writing about the things that helped and still help me get through the hardest days of chronic pain.

• Bear. I’ll admit – I’ve been waiting for an excuse to talk about my dog. My childhood dog passed away right as my symptoms from arthritis and fibromyalgia were starting to get really bad. Losing him was really hard – I always felt so connected to him, we had similar health issues and would even be on the same medications. We got Bear about a year after and he is absolutely amazing. He’s a very athletic, yellow lab, who loves to swim and chill on floats in the lake. On the really bad days, driving can be so tough – Driving an hour to the lake seemed impossible but every time I did, Bear made it all worth it by the exuberance of his greeting. There is nothing better than getting a Bear hug from him as he shows how excited he is to see me. When things were really tough and I was barely making it through another day of work my mom would sometimes bring him up to my apartment and he would bring so much joy to me at the end of a hard day.
• Starting the week off in a positive way. For me this is through my bible study group. After work on Mondays, we meet to catch up on each other’s lives and to discuss our current study. No matter how hard it is for me to sit without showing how much pain I’m in, I always leave these meetings with a sense of happiness and peace.
• Doing things I enjoy even if I can’t do them like I used to. Volleyball was my sport growing up and I still love to play. A couple of years ago my brother and some of his friends started getting really into beach volleyball and I would go play with them when I could. I knew playing would hurt me but it was worth it to be in the game again – no matter how long I would have to be on ice afterwards. Similarly, during the summer I really enjoy wakeboarding at the lake and I didn’t give it up. Going out and feeling the rush of going over the water helped me to still feel alive on the weeks where I barely made it out of bed from all the pain. I would go out for really short periods of time because my back would get triggered pretty quickly by wakeboarding but just being able to still do it was so good for me. Apologies to my dad if it’s annoying to take me out for such small runs.
• Having things to look forward to. Whether it is events or trips – I held onto these so hard. Getting excited about something helps your overall outlook seem better even if you are having a really bad day. I would overly look forward to upcoming fun outings with friends and family trips. Even if a trip wasn’t completely planned yet, talking about the idea of it helps me to look forward to the future on days when I can’t escape the pain. This is something I still do and I am really excited/grateful that I do have a trip coming up to distract me from having to wait longer for my injections.
• Talking with someone who understands. I mentioned in another post that talking with my Grandma really helped me. Every time I talked to her I felt like we were fighting our battles with chronic pain together and I didn’t feel as alone. People who haven’t experienced it can’t understand no matter how hard they try so having someone who does understand is so comforting.