"You'll Hurt Worse Tomorrow", that was yesterday!

God has a sense of humor. My life has too many examples to go into for proof, so you'll have to take my word on this. How it fits here is simple:

Back when I was a paramedic, and even during my time as a trauma nurse for the Army, I remember telling people the absolutely useless phrase, "If you think it hurts now, wait. It will be worse tomorrow, then you'll be really sore." Now I don't mean that I was wrong in saying this, or trying to be mean. When you get inured, or even after some types of medical tests, the body is far more sore the day after, it's a fact. A great soreness, an ache of indescribable tightness happens. Back in those days, I thought I was doing the right thing. I mean, why lie to someone? Yeah, yeah, your boo-boo hurts now, just wait, tomorrow is really going to bother you. My only consolation, if there was any, was to tell this poor patient, "You think you want pain med's now, I'd hold off and make sure you've got them for tomorrow!"

Now, years later, 'tis me with the boo-boo. If you happened to see my earlier post on my MRI exam, you might take notice that it has the ability to take my pain to a whole new level. In fact, let's talk about pain levels. For those of us with pain, if you've ever sought out treatment, the medical staff has this great little card that helps you describe your pain. The mathematical zero (0) says underneath it that you have no pain whatsoever. In the words of a typical teenager, "Duh". Why even have that listed? I've been in the medical field and I'll tell you a secret, no one ever chooses zero if they've come in for pain! Maybe with a new healthcare system that is being promised by the US government, some people may actually seek treatment for pain at a zero level, but not now.

From the invention of zero, the card goes up in numbers, along with some interesting facial pictures, to the last number on the card which is ten. At ten, the card says one of two things, depending on the dealer (which proves even more stupidity, that there are many companies that put these genius cards out, and they differ!) OK, I get using it for kids, but when they show it to my forty plus years, I feel like I'm on some combination of Sesame Street and Candid Camera. Anyway, back to ten. Ten says either "the worst pain ever" or "pain that makes you seek out medical advice". Now, this is all a way to quantify pain levels. The problem is, how many people who are being seen for pain point to four? If I'm in the hospital, and it is pain that brought me in, can we assume it's a ten, or will a nine make a really big difference? Will you get kicked out for choosing seven?

For those of us with chronic pain, the scale doesn't work. Often times we are at a ten. Some days I'm at an eleven, which would be, "If I see a healthcare worker, I'll strangle them." Twice, I've even been at a twelve, "Forget treatment, just shoot me now!" The fact is, a patient will point to anything they think will get them the right medicine or treatment. Eight, nine, or ten, what will convince you, the man or woman with the plan, that I want to end this pain?

Now for--this will be worse tomorrow problem. I'm already on pain meds. I literally wear a narcotic, and occasionally have pills to "help me over the hump." The problem is I hate pain medication. You know how stupid I feel when I walk with a cane and still fall over to the side? When I am on the extra pain meds, I fall asleep for almost no reason and miss entire conversations. And like I said, I knew today would be worse. I've taken my meds, and I'm writing this because my second dose will be due soon, so I only have a small window of clearness. My point is this, just knowing the next day will be worse, doesn't mean you'll be able to do anything worthwhile about it. Like me, there might be some extra medication, but really, that's not always what one looks forward to.

So what does one do when they are faced with an upcoming day of pain? This is the time to leave it up to God. I know that's not always easy. There's the old saying, "Leave your nighttime problems with God, He'll be up anyway." The problem is, you still may not be able to sleep well. But in this case, you really need to learn to lean on your Creator. He knows what you've been through, He remembers how tired He was after His time in the desert and in the Garden of Gethsemane. He created you, who else can understand? Ask our Lord to accept your pain, to be with you during the rough times, and to hold you up since we can't do it ourselves. Allow your body to sink into it, let it happen and hopefully, sleep. We'll talk more later, but when you speak to our God, be plain. The trinity of prayer is confession, praise, and thanksgiving. As you get to your thanksgiving, ask for what is so good about your pain, then listen. If you fall asleep then, it's ok. He is with you always.