It was a great day today in my part of the country! The sun was out and finally it feels like spring. Our family spent most of the day outside today, even ending our day by having our dinner outside. It’s nice at this time of the year because the bugs haven’t arrived in full force yet! So you don’t have to worry about smacking yourself all night. It was a really nice way to end the day which was pretty good overall. I’m dealing with a fare amount of pain at the moment because I over did things a bit today and I’m also trying to adjust still from the other night.

The other night my wife and I went to see Elton John in concert. It was our early anniversary present to each other and so we went with my sister in-law and had a great night. I took my earplugs because I am sensitive to the loud, however I knew that I’d be paying for it if I went. It’s a matter of understanding that I’m going to have a couple of bad days with my pain afterword, but you have to make the decision for yourself and ask yourself if it is worth it. Sometimes you need to pick and choose the things your going to do knowing that it’s going to effect your CRPS. To be honest there were moments when my pain got to me at the concert but it was well worth it!! Am I going to go out and make my symptoms worse every day? No! That’s not the point! It’s about taking a risk sometimes doing something you want to do, and trying to live life without the limitations. This isn’t something I can handle doing all the time, and I have to be prepared to deal how it affects me.

My point with this however is that you don’t have to let your CRPS stop you from having fun. Getting out and trying to be as active as possible is important. If you sit around allowing your pain to get the best of you then you’ll never overcome it. Learning how to manage my pain has been important, as it allows me to get out a bit more than I did and feel more active. Learning those skills is very important from the standpoint that I now have the mentality that I’m not going to let pain win. Does it mean that everything that I do is going to be pain free? No it doesn’t! It’s about being able to find a balance in everything that you do.  So for me going to a concert is possible because I know how to manage the extra pain it causes going into it. I do what I can do to minimize the affects it has on me before I go, and then I deal with the after effects when those come.

Look! Life isn’t the same as it was before CRPS and you have to do everything possible to manage it. You may not like the curve ball that’s been thrown at you, but you have to do everything you can to accept it and work with it. Is it easy work? No I’m afraid to say that it’s going to take a lot of hard work. I pray that God gives me strength every day, as I face new challenges that are put in front of me. It’s a matter of taking baby steps and over time I’m going to get to the end of all this. In the mean time life carries on and I’m doing the best that I can. I ask God everyday for healing to my body and know that it will come!