I was inspired to write this post by Moonbeam McQueen and her Blue Buffalo post. A really nice man did a really nice thing at the best possible time and Moonbeam wrote a lovely post about it. I encourage everyone to go read it. Moonbeams's post was simmering nicely in the back of my brain yesterday while I was having lunch with my sis and my niece. My niece loves to dig through my purse - she has been doing it since she was a toddler and for the life of me I can not imagine why. My purse must be so boring compared to her Mom, the glamour Queen's! I keep a notepad in my purse to help … [Read more...]
Fibromyalgia Support Group
Maybe my therapist was right, maybe I am a caretaker by nature. That would help explain why I have taken on the responsibility of organizing a local support group for people with Fibromyalgia and chronic pain. I have been interested in starting or joining a Fibromyalgia support group for some time. Partly it is for completely selfish reasons. I want a community I can reach out to; a group that understands how I am feeling without my needing to explain; a group I can turn to for compassion and camaraderie. But mostly it is that I want to help others find hope. I became organizer of the … [Read more...]
False Hope for Fibromyalgia Patient
Some days I just get mad. Today is one of those days. Hell, I’m not mad; I am pissed. I need to stop censoring myself just because I don’t want to offend anyone reading this. I am pissed! I’m pissed that I still have hope – hope that somewhere inside me there is still a vibrant healthy person, but everyday I feel myself slipping further and further away from her. I am pissed that I cannot just wake up in the morning and take control of my day. I am pissed that I can’t always finish the laundry when it needs to be done or scrub the damn toilet. I am pissed that my head and neck hurt so … [Read more...]
Fibromyalgia-like Pain in Frida Kahlo’s Paintings
When Frida came out in 2002 I knew nothing about the artist Frida Kahlo. After watching the film I became haunted by her. For weeks after I could not stop thinking about the tempestuous woman who, despite living with an inhumane amount of pain, lived with extreme magnetism and passion. I think I was drawn to her because of her pain. I even mentioned to my husband once that I believed she might have suffered from Fibromyalgia. Frida’s pain began with a devastating bus crash at the age of eighteen. Here is an excerpt form Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera, which … [Read more...]
Fibromyalgia Pain Breakthrough: Qigong
Last week the Chronicle Herald published an article about the results of a recent Qigong trial done on people living with chronic pain. According to the researcher, Dr. Mary Lynch at Quenn Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, “their quality of life and their level of pain got better. And this is just through a simple series of gentle, dance-like moves.” What is Qigong? From the Qigong Institute: Qigong (chee-gong) is “Energy techniques” or “Energy Skills,” the ancient Chinese internal arts used for over 5000 years to promote health, emotional happiness and spiritual … [Read more...]