Last Friday, My Friend took me out to dinner as thanks for my assistance in grading her students� final projects. I�ve been bothered by something she told me ever since. Apparently, some people at work are talking about my lengthy absence, and not in a sympathetic manner. The term �milking it� was used.

I know I shouldn�t care what others think or say. However, this insensitivity to �invisible disabilities� DOES rankle, and it DOES hurt.

I hate to beat a dead horse, but these are the facts. Pain wakes me from my sleep several times a week. I have great difficulty sitting up, getting out of bed, and walking because the pain is so intense in the morning. It takes a couple of hours before I can move around more easily. My legs throb and ache. I can�t stand comfortably for longer than 15 minutes at a time.

The pain is not just in my lower back; it is also present in both buttocks/hips, and sometimes wraps around the side of my torso. (It feels like a cramp in that area.) I experience tingling in my feet, along with the throbbing and aching in my legs.

All of the above is in reference to the lumbar spine injury/herniated disc/sciatica. Besides that, I also suffer from Degenerative Disc Disease, Fibromyalgia (and related chronic fatigue), intractable headaches (the bane of my existence), and bulging discs with nerve entrapment in my cervical spine. I have problems with my feet, and will probably have to undergo hammertoe surgery. And, let�s not forget the recent addition of the cyst, spur, fluid and tear of the rotator cuff in my right shoulder.

How much pain can a person be expected to bear up under?

Song of the Day: Milk It by Nirvana