I was an advisory teacher when I suffered a spinal injury in 2007 that landed me in a Brisbane hospital emergency department.

Thanks to a neurosurgeon, I regained the use of my left leg and the crushing pain eased. However nerve root damage from the injury left me with radiculopathy & ongoing back pain.

When I returned to work, the injury was aggravated resulting in another round of spinal surgery. This partly resolved the problem to the point where I could lie on my left side to sleep, for a short period of time.

Over the next year I put together a very supportive healthcare team consisting of a GP, a physiotherapist and a pain specialist who provided effective treatment through medication and an exercise program. I learnt to manage my pain levels and be unafraid of re-injury so that I could regain moderate levels of function.
Following a pain management program, I established a consumer health charity for people suffering from persistent pain, the Australian Pain Management Association (APMA). This stemmed from difficulties pain program participants had in finding community-based support for us.
I concluded at this point that, left unmanaged, my pain levels would hover around seven to eight out of 10. Medication could improve this rate by three to four points and physiotherapy and changes to my reasoning about pain by another three to four points.  This way the pain could be managed. The pain was always there, but if it is less than five I can have a reasonable quality of life and enjoy my increased leisure and “different work”.

I have left teaching but teaching hasn’t left me. Some of the most inspiring activities that APMA engages in are attending respite centres and seniors organisations to give presentations on managing chronic pain. The learning often goes both ways as we pick up “tips and tricks” from others who have often been managing pain for decades. It is encouraging to be able to share the hurt and the humour that our life with persistent pain brings.

Each day I work hard at managing the pain. The mornings are the worst – facing another day in pain. Before I go to sleep, I think of something to look forward to & then in the morning reactivate this thought. I also wake at 6am, take my medication & wait for that to take effect before rising for the day. Each day requires planning so as not to worsen my pain but to lessen it as much as I can.