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A Patient’s Perspective on Pain, Referrals, and Recovery

By The Artful Woman
What I wish doctors knew about helping people manage pain is that there seems to be a lot of disconnect and lack of communication in the healthcare system. When I was in acute care, I was prescribed a number of medications that nobody really discussed with me. They just gave them to me. When I found out I was on methadone, I asked what the plan was to wean me off of it because I didn't want to be on it long-term. Nobody seemed to have an answer. When I was discharged from the hospital, they took me off methadone cold turkey and sent me home. After I got home, I received a phone call from an outpatient substance abuse treatment clinic. They told me they would be treating me for methadone dependence, but the earliest appointment they had was three weeks after I had already been discharged and taken off the medication. They actually said they were going to put me back on it so they could wean me off it. I remember thinking, if this was something that needed to be addressed, why was...
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Holding On Through Trauma, Loss & Healing

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By The Artful Woman




 People ask me how I’m holding on after everything that happened to me. How do you keep going when one person’s reckless decision permanently changes your life?

The truth is, some days I’m barely holding on by a thread.

One man’s choice didn’t just destroy my car. It destroyed my livelihood, my body, and my ability to live the life I built. He took my leg. And as a photographer and artist, my work depended on being on my feet—moving constantly, creating memories, capturing love, telling stories through my lens. That life was taken from me in an instant.

Now I live with constant anxiety about how I’m going to pay my rent, cover my bills, and survive while trying to heal from catastrophic injuries. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have a landlord who has shown compassion and patience, but the reality is, that understanding can only last so long.

There are days when I feel one wrong word away from a panic attack.

But I’ve learned that I cannot afford to live in fear. I cannot let my mind stay trapped in worst-case scenarios or obsess over what could happen. I refuse to create that reality for myself. I refuse to surrender to hopelessness.

So instead, every single day, I choose to believe that somehow things will work out. I choose to believe that I will survive this. That I will heal. That I will rebuild my life. Because fear is heavy, and I simply cannot afford to stay in that energy mentally, emotionally, or spiritually.

Sometimes what we focus on becomes our reality, so I fight every day to hold onto hope, even when it’s hard.

If my story has touched you, I’m asking for help. Your donations, shares, and support are helping me stay housed, continue healing, and hold onto the little stability I have left while I rebuild my life after this devastating accident.

Even sharing my GoFundMe could make a difference.


https://gofund.me/3c244a6f8



Thank you for seeing me, hearing me, and helping me keep going.

#GoFundMe #EmergencySupport #AccidentSurvivor #TraumaRecovery #HealingJourney #AmputeeLife #LimbLossAwareness #DisabilityAwareness #RecoveryJourney #HopeAfterTrauma #StillFighting #KeepGoing #FaithOverFear #Resilience #OneDayAtATime #HelpMeHeal #CommunitySupport #PleaseShare #SupportAndShare #FinancialHardship #LifeAfterTrauma #SurvivingAndHealing #HopeAndHealing #CatastrophicInjury #SupportRecovery

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Location: Lake Elsinore, CA, USA

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