Learning to Deal with Pain

Pain has been part of the reality throughout, but when you have an imbalanced muscle tone and you have high spasticity and you have all those things, you're battling your body all the time.

Surgeries have helped tremendously. With the Baclofen pump, my spasms and spasticity are much less, so it's given me a lot more freedom to do things on my own.

The most painful wasn't so much just the surgeries, it was actually the neuro rehab that followed with the Baclofen, which resulted in having to reprogram the brain. For a while, it was really difficult and kind of dark and sad, and it was very, very difficult. It was not an easy thing at all. It was like the ultimate reset button. The return on investment has been phenomenal, but it was pretty tough.

My pain management plan has definitely changed and evolved over time. As I've gotten older, I'm really able to understand and take control of my pain management. I just try and focus on that pain is only a small negative aspect of my life. I had so many larger positive aspects and pain is just an insignificant, annoying little thing.

My pain management plan has definitely changed and evolved over time.

Shelby Nurse