The Iliac Crest

People who are broken way know more about their bodies then people who are not broken. Just think, if you are talking to joe schmo on the street, do you think he could tell you about the tendons of his knee? Nope. It isn't likely. But someone who has had knee surgery, they can tell you all about their injury, the surgery, and what kind of new tendons they have. My sister has three Achilles tendons in her right leg. Do you even know where your Achilles tendon is?

I just happen to know a lot about my iliac crest. This is my favorite bone name. It is also my favorite part of my body, at least for today. (tomorrow I might be in love with my feet.) But today and in truth most days, I love my iliac crest. I like to touch it. To feel it’s curve underneath my fingers. I can grab it with my hand. Do you know where your iliac crest is? I doubt it. Look it up. Then ask yourself, “Do I have a nice iliac crest?”

I actually think everyone has a nice iliac crest, even doctors. I struggle with doctors these days, it's one of the main problems I deal with in managing my pain. I have strong opinions about doctors and the schools of thought that they prescribe to.

For example, doctors who deny people adequate pain medication are assholes. Why would you deny someone a way to live better. Pain is part of life, but it is not something we need to live in daily. Everyone has pain, everyone knows how much it sucks to be in pain. EVERY PERSON. No one can escape it. Pain is a signal that something in our bodies or our emotions are not as they should be. We need to fix the problem so that the pain signals stop.

My question is how can we sit by and let people feel pain day in and day out? It is a societal problem, Americans make judgments about ways that people should handle their pain. Some ways are more acceptable then others. But the bottom line is that people who have to suffer daily shouldn't. There are great ways to manage pain these days, why as a society do we deny those who suffer relief? What really bugs me the most is that when people are dying and are in pain there are doctors who refuse to give them the medications that would ease their passing because of the stigma that is attached to the particular drug. This pisses me off the most. How do we allow this to happen? How!?

Everyone has pain, and everyone has a body. Everyone even has an iliac crest and an Achilles tendons. In fact you have a pair each. Pretty cool, eh?

But people in pain have a hard time loving their bodies because they are too busy taking stock on what hurts them the most that day. Is it muscle, bone, or tendon? Is it a joint? Did you eat something wrong that makes your pain increase? Did you get enough hugs this week to help cope with the pain? We take stock, and as we take stock we learn the names of our broken bits. We learn the names so we can talk to the doctors, physical therapists, and the nurses about it.

This is the mental task of the patient of chronic pain. (And for the task of anyone who has ever been seriously injured or faces a chronic condition of any sort.) This is why it can be so exhausting to be in pain everyday. I want to know about my iliac crest just because it is beautiful and I love it, not because it hurts me everyday.