Life can be overwhelming, especially when living with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).
The continual pressure to look good, to perform well, and to compete for wealth and affection creates a good deal of stress, and sometimes, we have periods when we feel down. And rightfully so.
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is an uncommon form of chronic pain that usually affects an arm or a leg.
It typically develops after an injury, surgery, stroke or heart attack, but the pain is out of proportion to the severity of the initial injury.
That’s what happened to Sandee Dennewitz. She tore ligaments in her left ankle and had to be trained to walk again. Then, just days before she was scheduled to have a nerve stimulator surgically implanted to help lessen her CRPS/ankle pain, Sandee was diagnosed with breast cancer. Some people might’ve been crushed into despair by that sequence of unfortunate events.
But Sandee’s story is one of forging ahead, “Yes, I was in pain every day, but I can’t sit around all day just because my legs hurt.”
Life is a Funny Thing
It seems that life is always testing us, challenging our resolve, while pushing us to the edge of what seems impossible.
Most people look at these setbacks and see them as insurmountable obstacles; however, there are a few people who come across such problems and ask:
Why not me? Why not now?
These are the people who believe that no matter what life throws their way, that they will persist and persevere—eventually attaining their goals and objectives.
Perseverance is the ability to keep going, to put one foot in front of the other, to envision a goal and head towards it.
It is to follow our arrow regardless of circumstance or obstacle or self-imposed roadblocks.
It is being true to ourselves, our purpose and our beliefs.
To me, perseverance is like a long and winding road with bursts of energy, self-directed forward motion, and the occasional pothole of inactivity and doubt.
Committing to a goal and then finding our way towards that goal is the only way that we will feel the power and joy of achievement.
Sandee Dennewitz is a story of persistence that I think everyone will be able to relate with on some level.
