I've seen some interesting discussions recently about children who are diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia, or as in my own case, Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia. For me, an accurate diagnosis only came about three decades after my first onset of symptoms, and so it's haunting and yet intriguing for me to read about several of the "new" patients here, some with "failed" procedures.
While we may endure pain so severe that we contemplate any ways to "end" it, this affliction is generally not "life threatening" or fatal, and so those of us who acquire it early in life may very well find that this illness can end up being the most constant, enduring aspect of our existence.
This got me to thinking how closely I can and do identify with those younger patients who have just discovered they have this disease, for even though I am two years past the "fifty yard line" now, I still remember vividly my first "attack" in Junior High School at age fourteen, just a few miles from where I sit tonight writing this. They don't even call it "Junior High" any more: these days, they refer to it as "Middle School." Even language itself has evolved since I began the long road of living with Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia.
Many years ago, I heard someone describe how the Human Spirit copes with long-term severe pain, and the skills learned as well as the strength needed to survive were likened to a chain. I cannot remember exactly who inspired me with this idea, or even when it occurred, but it's always fascinated me where my strength to go on comes from, and what holds me together. Now, as a New Year has begun, on this cold winter night, I shall attempt to expand upon this idea a bit, and I hope others can add to it.
Our bodies and minds are inextricably linked together, a chain of sorts, and what effects one thing will affect all others. We've all heard the old phrase, that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. And I'm here to tell you, it's not entirely accurate.
If you've ever tried to totally destroy a chain, you'll find that it is not just as strong as the weakest link: a chain is also as strong as its STRONGEST link! At times, parts of us may be worn down completely, but it is during these times that other parts of us, other "links" in our chains, reveal their toughness.
Each of us has our "strongest link" whether it be our courage, intelligence, flexibility, youthfulness, wisdom, spirit, the list goes on and on. All of us are occasionally "broken" at the weakest point, even completely "healthy" people.
Sure, a chain is held together by its weakest link, but it is also held together, and continues to be a chain, according to its strongest link. (jqt)