“My chronic pain journey started in 2023. As a former competitive athlete, I pushed through for as long as I could but knew this wasn’t another injury I could just tape up. My pelvis was locked and my leg in a burning vice grip, 24/7.
By February 2024, my right leg gave out constantly and so, I started using a cane for stability to walk my active dog. There were repeated suggestions about my back, but epidural steroid injections provided little relief.
By the time I had spine surgery, a hemilaminectomy, I’d lived with excruciating pain for over two years. I had more physio, injections, and appointments than imaginable, with so many promises of ‘being fixed.’ I researched what else to try, day and night. It was confusing, exhausting, and isolating. Chronic pain changes how you move through your day. Appointments, referrals and repeatedly explaining your symptoms is almost as exhausting as the pain itself.
“Still, I carry invisible scars from the last few years. What’s stayed with me most is how long it took to get a clear picture of the extent and severity of everything causing my pain.”
I’m grateful I got to surgery but wish it had happened sooner. Two hospitals rejected my referral, citing long wait times. One, however, told my GP to refer me to its rapid-access back assessment program. Otherwise, I was preparing to pay a significant amount for private surgery. At my surgical consult, I was told I had a 50/50 chance of success because my nerve had been severely compressed for so long.
