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Karlie Hopping

Professor Loudermilk

English 1201

12 April 2020

Fictional Short Story - Seemingly Endless Pain

Evelynn Anderson, a mom of two, got to know pain at a young age. Throughout her life,

she has visited what seems like hundreds of doctors, however, many dismissed her complaints.

She had no choice but to carry on, and to live with her aching joints, which affects everything in

her life, everyday-- her commute to work, going to the grocery store, cleaning the house, and

even the ability to lift and hold her children. The simplest things in life for most people, seem to

be some of the most difficult tasks for Evelynn and others who experience chronic pain too. It is

a daily battle that Evelynn feels like she will never be able to win.

After going to seemingly hundreds of doctors throughout her life, Evelynn thought she

would never get a diagnosis because, at one point, she learned that people wouldn’t believe her.

However, despite her loss of hope, some relief came when she discovered that her pain results

from a genetic disorder. Knowing this was relieving for Evelynn because for so long, most didn’t

believe her when she complained of pain because she was not able to explain why she was

having it. Only Evelynn can know how she feels every single day, and from her appearance,

outsiders would often berate her, for they were not able to see anything wrong.

This is a common issue for most people who struggle with chronic pain. Whether it’s source is

arthritis, a genetic disorder, an injury, disk problem, or the aftermath of a surgery, pain has no

objective measurement. No test can reveal how bad it is, therefore the patient is its sole witness.
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Evelynn’s diagnosis was different from most people’s diagnosis’ for chronic pain. For many

people, lifelong pain starts with a commonplace event-- a surgery, injury, etc. However, despite

the cause of pain, all pain is confining in itself. Chronic pain is an illness you could say.

Although Evelynn finally has a diagnosis for her chronic pain after years and years, she

struggles every day to deal with it. Knowing a diagnosis does make it slightly easier because she

can finally understand why she experiences what she experiences, but it doesn’t change how

hard it is for her to do the simplest things in life for most people, but the most difficult tasks for

her due to her pain. To help with her pain, she takes an opioid that she was prescribed by her

doctor for her to take when needed, which is daily for her. The drug does not have any

side-effects on her, but it does dull the pain for a while. It allows her to drive to work, lift, and

hold her children when she gets home from work, cook dinner, etc., without being in agony. As

the United States struggles to cope with a surge in opioid abuse, many chronic pain patients,

including Evelynn, who rely on opioids to deal with their pain, are trying to restrict it though,

however, it is very difficult when everyday tasks and activities are so difficult.

After dealing with this for so many years, Evelynn’s chronic pain has taken a toll on her

mental health. Daily pain is emotionally and physically stressful. In Evelynn’s experience, not

being able to remember a time where she wasn’t hurting is exhausting. Chronic pain is an illness

in its own right. It is confining, like a glass box. It is an invisible constraint, seemingly endless.

Experiencing this feeling, it has been so difficult on Evelynn’s psyche, for her morale. She wakes

up every morning feeling like the way she feels is the best she will ever feel. Some days are more

difficult than others, but sadly, this is Evelynn’s normal. She found a way to cope with this at an

early age, so to this day, she continues to fight through. Although it is very hard, and most people
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do not understand, she tries her best to live her life to the fullest. Staying positive is hard to do

when you have pain every day, but Evelynn has decided to not allow negative thoughts to come

into her head, and instead, she just enjoys getting through the day.