Chronic pain warriors: The Masters of Disguise
I’ve lost count of the numbers of times I’ve read that someone with a disability parked in a designated space, but then received a barrage of abuse from another because they ‘didn’t look disabled’. One of the most frustrating parts of having an invisible illness is the perception from others that you’re ‘ok’. I know I’ve talked about this before, but it recently reared it’s ugly head, so I vented in my support group. I was saddened to hear so many with similar experiences, so I felt it warranted another blog. To summarise, I have bilateral femoral retroversion, it’s a hip condition that means extreme pain 24/7 and it makes it a million times worse to sit in a chair. I call it the ‘chair-itus’ disability. I’ve suffered from this since around 2008, over the years I’ve learnt to cope and manage my pain the best way I know how, but I liken it to grief really, for the active life I once had. Dealing with any sort of loss is hard, it never goes away, but you learn to plod along in sp...