God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I
can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to
peace;...
Reinhold
Niebuhr (1892–1971)
The Serenity Prayer is the common name for a prayer written by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr .
This prayer is something I find my self saying in my head, often, when trying to deal with the strange symptoms of fibromyalgia.
Tuesday
Wednesday
Did Frida have Fibro?
At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.
- Frida KahloFrida Kahlo de Rivera (1907- 1954) was a Mexican artist. She suffered lifelong health problems, many of which derived from a 1925 vehicle accident. There is thinking she might have had Fibromyalgia as some of her self-portraits, depict the emotional effects of her pain.
If you read even a very small part of her biography you will understand that there were many traumas that caused Frida's physical pain. She experienced life-long severe pain but she would not be diagnosed with fibromyalgia even today in my opinion. She had too many other specific causes of her pain. If she went to the emergency department of any hospital, these days, they would not be diagnosing fibromyalgia as she had enough traumas to explain her pain. What do you think?
Read on to find out more the pain aspects of her pain.
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Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait, The Broken Column, 1944. Collection of Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City. Photo courtesy of petrus.agricola |
On September 17, 1925, Kahlo was riding in a bus that collided with a trolley car. She suffered serious injuries as a result of the accident, including a broken spinal column, a broken collarbone, broken ribs, a broken pelvis, eleven fractures in her right leg, a crushed and dislocated right foot, and a dislocated shoulder. Also, an iron handrail pierced her abdomen and her uterus, compromising her reproductive capacity.
The accident left her in a great deal of pain while she spent three months recovering in a full body cast. Although she recovered from her injuries and eventually regained her ability to walk, she had relapses of extreme pain for the remainder of her life. The pain was intense and often left her confined to a hospital or bedridden for months at a time. She had as many as thirty-five operations as a result of the accident, mainly on her back, her right leg, and her right foot. The injuries also prevented Kahlo from having a child because of the medical complications and permanent damage. Though she conceived three times, all her pregnancies had to be terminated. Frida Festival
Can you imagine enduring all of this? I personally think the trauma of her accident and subsequent medical procedures caused the pain she endured but many people, with chronic pain of many kinds, like to use her as their strong mentor because of her bravery in taking her pain and transforming it into paintings. She presented herself as an image of strength and defiance in her public life and she will always be glorified for this.
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Self Portrait Very Ugly 1933 oil on canvas |
After her death and still now even more Frida is seen as a strong symbol of strength and endurance for many minority groups... not just those living with physical chronic pain, like fibromyalgia, but also those living with emotional pain such as loss of all kinds and the grief that it brings. She did not shy away from the pain of her life but embraced it.
I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality. Frida Kahlo.
FRIDA KAHLO PAIN FACTS
She contracted the poliomyelitis virus at the age of 6.
She was bullied as a child for having one leg thinner, weaker and shorter than the other (due to polio).
In 1925, aged 18, Frida Kahlo was in a tram crash which caused multiple traumas – her spine was injured in several places, her foot and leg broken and her pelvis badly damaged by a piece of the metal handrail and she was confined to bed for 3 months.
An X-ray examination taken 1 year after the accident revealed a number of displaced vertebrae. She was re-admitted to hospital and for several months wore plaster corsets that considerably restricted her mobility.
This tram accident prevented Frida from being able to have children and she endured failed pregnancies, numerous miscarriages and at least three therapeutic terminations.
She underwent more than 30 surgeries on her spinal column in attempts to relieve her back pain.
She became addicted to pain medications and alcohol.
From 1934 onwards, several unsuccessful operations on her foot and leg were performed that eventually led to gangrene and amputation of the leg below the knee in 1953.
REFERENCES:
The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait by Carlos Fuentes
Frida Kahlo 1907-1954: Pain and Passion by Andrea Kettenmann
The History Show on RTE Radio 1, Sunday 17 April 2011
Smithsonian Magazine
Sunday
WARNING WARNING MAJOR FIBRO FLARE!
Where does it hurt ? I asked the lady next to me this morning at hydrotherapy.
She said "From the top of my head to my toes."
What happens to you when you get a flare up of Fibromyalgia? I get:
- increased pain in most of my joints (Notice the word increased)
- increased pain in my calf muscles
- a headache - usually mild and in the temples
- an electric feeling that I can feel in my lower limbs and hands
- usually a lack of taste
- blocked feeling in ears
- increased tinnitus that is louder than normal
- increased fatigue
That is how I feel today, so please have a look at any old posts that may interest you until I can post again:
ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS FOR FIBROMYALGIA
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Fibromyalgia
Ayurvedic Treatment for Fibromyalgia?
Why Omega 3 is so important
Guaifenesin Protocol
Yoga improves Fibromyalgia symptoms
Nutrition-Based Approach to helping relieve symptoms of Fibromyalgia
Homoeopathy effective in fibromyalgia
Magnesium
Did acupuncture help your fibromyalgia?
THE SCIENCE BEHIND FIBROMYALGIA
Fibromyalgia & Chronic Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Measuring symptoms - new Fibromyalgia Diagnostic Criteria
Accelerated Brain Gray Matter Loss in Fibromyalgia
Groundbreaking study widens treatment options for fibromyalgia
New Approach to Treating Fibromyalgia by Addressing Sleep Problems
But as many people with fibro know it is very annoying when you are doing mostly all of the treatments on this list and you get hit for 6 by the old fibro monster again.
If none of these post are what you are looking for you could visit Fibro Bloggers Directory where people with fibromyalgia tell it like it is when they have a fibro flare.
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