My injury happened over two days – August 30-31, 2001 – when I was asked to reorganise the office’s new filing system.
I was moving files – some weighing up to three kilograms - that were suspended and clipped onto rails (not filing cabinets) and being just 4 feet 11 inches tall and working without a ladder or proper equipment, I suffered an injury.
Originally diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, I was told shoulders and arms were hard to treat and to “just take it easy, it will go away”.
I changed doctors and by December 2001, thanks to a physiotherapist, I was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome.
I had surgery on January 21, 2002 but this was unsuccessful and caused a condition called allodynia on the front right side of my chest neck and upper arm which caused my skin to be irritated by most materials including the lace on bras, necklaces, collars and by friction when I walked. My reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome means I have to hold my chest when I feel vibrations or shaking or when travelling over speed humps.
My pain ranges from burning to icy cold tingling, numbness, electric shock-type sensations, an irritating itch that is too deep inside the skin for anything to help, swelling, heaviness, headaches, tiredness and major pain.
I have tried cold packs and hot packs and various painkillers - oxycontin, panadine forte, endep and so many other medications, I can't remember them all, but I couldn’t handle the side-effects.
Treatment has included physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, feldenkrais and occupational therapy. Most of these just irritated my condition although relaxation sometimes helps.
There is not day that goes by when I am not in pain. I am still, to this day, learning to live with it. I go to my doctor sometimes with the hope that there is something else out there that might help ease my pain, but each time I just get a shrug of the shoulders. I know there is nothing, but I live in the hope that one day...
The pain at first made me feel like I was abnormal and going crazy. It cripples me, preventing me from being able to do anything for days. I know people can't see my pain and I get comments that imply I'm faking it. I have put on a lot of weight, going from a size 6 to a 14 because I can't exercise much anymore.
I retreated into myself and became very depressed. I take antidepressants.
The pain prevents me from my great love of drawing and painting and I sometimes have difficulty trying to carry a book to read. I have difficulty picking up and carrying children, let alone my cat. I can't lie flat on my back any more without a sensation of a heaviness and choking.
I lost my office job and I now work in a shop but can only work four hours a day and can't work two days in a row.