Pain isn't always visible

Do you ever have aches and pains that aren’t noticeable to the naked eye? Yeah me too! Do you push through it one day, then the next it’s not so easy? Yeah me too!! So it infuriates me to hear blatant judgments made about the physical ability of an elderly person. I don’t care how crotchety or mean that older person may be, their pain can fluctuate from day to day! Just as mine does.

I have a middle-aged friend whose adrenalin staves off pain most of her working day, by the end of her shift, the aches becomes prevalent. Another friend lives with chronic migraines and eczema, her days can be pretty miserable. It’s difficult to fathom if you’ve never had a migraine! Sadly she struggles to work through them, sometimes without others knowing.

For me some days are better than others! I can tell by the way I walk down the stairs in the morning how my day will be. It all depends on sleep, the demands of the day, how much driving I’ve done, whether my knee hurts, which affects my opposite hip, or how many obligations I have in the week. Not one to complain, I just work through it, me and my Tylenol can be best friends. Some days I am so slow and prefer not to be around people. I have to pace myself. This wasn’t meant to be a bitch fest, but more of a plea for empathy, kindness and less judgment toward others! Because the fact is, pain isn’t always visible, and some people push themselves one day and are unable to the next!