Double whammy pain

Nerve pain is a serious problem for people with spinal cord damage. Phantom pain is a serious problem for amputees. Nick’s got both.

Today is day 4 of a super gnarly phantom sensation onslaught. Constant, day and night, no letting up, his left foot has been giving him intense and often unbearable sensations of pins and needles. Constant. But this evening he had about an hour without them, for the first time in four days, so we are just hoping this is a move in the right direction. Finally.

It’s odd, most people with spinal cord injuries experience a lot of pain. This is the exact opposite of what most people would think. No feeling, no pain, right? Wrong! It’s a really fucked up situation because I think most people feel like they could deal with the aftermath of their injury so much better if they weren’t in so much pain all the time. I know that’s how Nick and several of his friends feel.

And I know most amputees get that way without receiving a nerve block 24 hours before losing their limb(s). Nick and I didn’t learn about that option that has been proven to prevent phantom pain until months later. How awesome is that? All this pointless suffering caused by the feet he no longer has could have been prevented!

Pain. That’s the life of an injured man, I guess. But it still fucking sucks.