Isolation

Sooner or later the call was going to come, and tonight I got the call. Stacy is in San Francisco, I am in Atlanta, her pain is out of control and there is nothing I can do to help. She worries that her new love will not understand, and he will be frightened by the fact that she needs to go to the ER. It breaks my heart that I can't be there to help. Being at the other end of a phone line just isn't the same as being at the other end of the house. This whole chronic pain / TMJ disorder thing is so **** frustrating.

Setbacks come when you least expect them, and we find ourselves wondering when the next one is going to happen. I guess that is why it is so important to live hour by hour...day by day...week by week. This is such a wonderful place to vent. Thank you all for listening. I am sure that by now my friends are a little sick of hearing about sickness. So, I need to talk about isolation.

Chronic pain is very sneaky, and if you are not careful, it will take over your life and leave you with a feeling of isolation. In the beginning friends rally around you with offers of support and assistance. It is so important that you accept these offers, because if you don't, eventually they will stop. As I have stated before, Stacy has had numerous surgeries. With each one, people came forward to offer help, which I rejected because I didn't want to burden anyone. I also turned down invitations to socialize. As a result my friends and family went on with their lives thinking that everything was fine with mine. The more I rejected them, the more isolated I felt. I used to play trivia once a week at a local pub with some former co-workers, I went last week for the first time in months. I was so amazed at how happy they were to see me, and how good it felt to be there. Such a small thing, but it meant so much. So here is the deal.....YOU have to make the effort, take the time, and let others know that they are needed.