17-year-old girl
Dear everyone!
My name is Anne and I’m 17 years old. In summer 2010 I started pain control therapy in Datteln. I’m still convinced today that that was the best decision of my life. At that time I could hardly walk 100 meters at a time. I had an operation on my ankle joint and since then had ongoing pain.
I used crutches for almost two years; I even used a wheelchair part of the time. And I no longer knew what I should do. I couldn’t sleep anymore, couldn’t think anymore and clearly took too much pain medication. I was about to start cutting myself. It was clear to me that things couldn’t go on like that.
But no matter what I did: no physiotherapy helped and – what was much worse – no single doctor believed me! I was considered a malingerer, time and time again.
And then through a happy coincidence I landed in Datteln, almost 700 kilometers from my home town. I never would have thought that the simple things you learn there work so damn well in the end!!!
The first few days were really strenuous. It was perhaps a little too much action. But those three weeks came to an end much too quickly. I could have moved in there. There was something new to experience every day and with every day I Iearned more what it means to be able to live PAIN FREE. And I took these experiences and attitudes away with me!
In the end it’s a secret recipe:
Goethe once said: “Hold on tight to the present. Every situation, yes, every moment has endless worth since it represents a whole eternity.” You must keep exactly that in mind. Imagine that you can enjoy every single second. And that all the happiness that you feel cannot be spoiled. You are the boss! And your pain, regardless of how bad it might be, cannot order you around! Think of the small things that in the end make the day perfect. An example: If I get zero on a math exam, is that actually a reason to cry? But if I ignore that and think that I drank a wonderful coffee this morning, that my girlfriend kissed me, that my favorite song played on the radio on the way to school and that I’ve already laughed well today ... nothing is so bad!
It’s no different with pain. It isn’t your dictator, it doesn’t have the right to say to you what you can and can’t do!!!
Meanwhile it has come to light that I have rheumatism. I had to have another operation, this time on the Achilles tendon. And without the pain control therapy I still wouldn’t be able to walk properly today. It often hurt, but never for long. I found my way. Everything that you can learn in Datteln is the groundwork for a pain-free future, but you have to stick with it.
Meanwhile I live pain free. I am young, free, independent. I’m LIVING again!!
Everything that hindered me and everyone that wanted to hinder me, I have moved out of my way. It was a rocky road, but it was worth it.
Warm wishes from afar!