11-year-old boy
Hi kids in the world of pain!!!
My name is Marijan, I’m 11 years old. This is my story. I damaged a nerve in my left leg in a sports event; that’s how the drama began. This happened in February 2010, I was 9 years old, and from that day on I had only pain, day and night. At first my parents thought I had overstretched the leg or I was growing, but the pain didn’t want to stop. We went from one doctor to another. You couldn’t imagine what I had to go through (orthopedics, MRT, physiotherapy, osteopathy, etc.). I also got pain medication, without pain medication I couldn’t do anything. My school marks dropped, I didn’t want to get together with my friends and I didn’t have any more fun. My parents reacted totally stupid and annoyed. I had the feeling that they weren’t interested in my pain. From my parents I just got “distract yourself”, “read something” or “lie down” or my mother massaged my leg. Now I know that my parents were overtaxed and didn’t mean it that way.
A stay in Datteln was recommended to me. At first I was totally against being without my parents for three weeks, but when they told me that they would visit me every day, I agreed. Everyone in Datteln was very nice and friendly to me. I had doctors and therapists by my side who showed me various possible ways to control my pain (ABC with words, finding objects, and pain control). The three weeks in hospital helped me a lot. When I came out I was pain free. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Datteln team again. I play soccer again and have started tennis. Meanwhile I now go to a secondary school and am a good student again and am very popular in my class.
Thank you Datteln adolescent team.