Distractable Me!!

I was greeted this morning with a link to the Health Central website.  The link was to an article published at the end of May about how "distractions" actually decrease the amount of pain signals that are sent from our spinal chords to our brains.  Now ... those of us who suffer from chronic pain have known this for quite a while but we could only make educated guesses as to "why."  Now we have PROOF!!!  <insert Happy Butt Dance here>  If you'd like to check it out for yourselves, the link is: http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/153240/distraction?ap=2003

Why is so hard for Normies to understand why we RSDers live for distractions??  They are our calm amid the storm.  It doesn't matter what they are, as long as we're distracted, we are less focused on the burning pain that courses through our bodies non-stop, 24/7/365.  Ok Normies, let's try this on for size ... have you ever broken a bone, sprained a wrist or ankle, jammed a finger or toe, or been on the receiving end of a punch?  Have you ever experienced 1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree burns (even sunburns)?  How did that make you feel at the onset, do you remember?  Did you hurt?  Did you cry?  Did you cuss?  Did you go to the Emergency Room?  Did it heal?  Well ... combine all of those feelings and that's almost what it's like to live with chronic pain, without the "healing" part.  We are never "ok."  Even when we say that we are, we are still in a buttload of pain.  It's relentless!  Were you grateful when friends or family stopped by to check on you as you recovered?  Did you get wrapped up in video games, movies, crossword puzzle books, Mad Libs?  Did you regain a little color in your face as you visited or played?  How did you pass the time while you were healing?  Did you do everything that you could to take your mind off the pain ... aka "distraction"???  Now ... Imagine if the pain that you felt wasn't temporary!!

I have been chastised for always having my iPhone with me and for playing my silly games on it.  I play Words With Friends, Scramble With Friends, Bingo, Angry Birds, Where's My Water, Casino Games, Dominoes, Solitaire, Backgammon, Skee Ball, and Family Feud as my distractions.  But I also use it as physical therapy for my hands and thumbs as well as a distraction.  I have been told by the docs that, because my RSD stemmed in my right thumb and hand, I have an added problem with mobility and localized seizures.  But that's not the only reason that I try to keep it with me at all times.  It is also my Life Alert connection as well!  If I'm walking down my back steps to my patio and happen to fall, I have my phone to call for help instead of having to scream and hope 1 of my neighbors hears me, or having to crawl back into the house to find my phone to make the call.  If I'm in the shower and I fall, yes it's happened before, my phone is on the edge of the sink, within reaching distance.  It's next to my bed at night just in case I can't get out of bed in the morning and need help.  I keep Netflix and HuluPlus on my iPhone in case I'm having such a bad day that I can't get to my living room to watch tv.  (I have a tv and dvd player in my bedroom, but no cable/dish connection.)  There is a method to my madness, there really truly is!!

So the next time one of you Normies sees one of us RSDers lost in techno-land, don't give us a hard time about it!!  Don't make derogatory comments about our phones, laptops, iPads, or game consoles.  That's you judging us!!  And don't think that those comments fall on deaf ears.  We hear you and we hear the contempt in your voice when you say it.  Unless you know the pain that we live with, you don't know what it takes in order for us to not ball up into the fetal position and scream ... would you rather see/hear that???  Neither would we!!

I have faith that, once again, a few Normies might think that I'm hitting below the belt.  Deal with it!  You put us in the position to have to speak out about our need for distractions.  If you care enough, you'll stick around to learn more about becoming a distraction for us yourself.  If you don't really give a rats ass and are just going through the motions, you deserve to feel like shit right now!!  (and I don't have to apologize for this one to my Mom ... I've actually heard her say this before in my defense!!  God bless that woman!!)  I have faith that eyes will be opened as to why we do what we do and more understanding and awareness will be raised because of it.  Either be a distraction for us, or allow us to distract ourselves without judging ... PLEASE!!!!!