This is the fifth and final portion into E.J’s journey through pain. I meet 
E.J. almost 5-6 years ago on another care related site and we have bonded through various site related blogs, chat rooms, week or monthly competitions, etc. I believe what I noticed about E.J. was her passion for photography and art as well as her outspoken attitude and not just her caregiving and passion. E.J. has approved for me to post her entire 18 year ordeal with chronic pain. Due to the time involved in this interview (personal story) I will be posting it over several days. This also provides time for those working on their questionnaires or story to get them in to me. This is not a way to get you to rush, I want you all to be comfortable with the stories before their posted.
Following is E.J. story in her words and her writing, nothing has been left out. Now here is the look into E.J’s Chronic Pain.
My National Pain Awareness Month Interview with E.J., Part 5
4/24/89, age 30. On the Pill for approximately 19 months.
Stepping into the college oval at my Alma mater I faced Main Hall and thought I’d forgotten which stairs led to the psych department. I remembered, then, that the entrance was closer to the Science Center — and also saw the lights on at that side. I felt strange as I stepped inside, noting the new coat of paint on the floor and stairs, hearing the theater department rehearse in the auditorium. Passed the second floor, wondering if I should stop at the women’s room on whose floor I had lain in pain the day Diane had come down to literally pick me up and half-carry me back to class.
When everyone else was telling me my cramps were in my head, my former professor had been the only one who said, “There is something wrong with you physically, and you damn well better get it checked!”
“Unfortunately, the majority ruled at the time,” I told him at the reunion. “But you called it.”
“Well,” he answered, “you were obviously not malingering. If you were, your desire to learn would have outweighed the pain and you would not have had to keep leaving the classroom.” Said in a lecture voice, for the benefit of others at the table as well as for myself.
June 19, 2003, age 44. Five days off the Pill after almost 16 years on.
My own health post-Pill is an unknown, though I still have 4 months of Rx to serve as a safety net. Sometimes I feel as though the odds are against me, but in my better moments I keep forging ahead, damn the torpedoes. Overcome the obstacles. I’ve done it before.
One day, one job at a time.
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