“YOU NEED TO GIVE UP HOPE, IT’S holding you back” were the words from the medical professional I was facing at my local NHS pain clinic, after struggling to improve my health for more than a decade. On the outside I looked fine, but inside I was in agony, riddled with unexplainable and debilitating pain. Despite everything I’d tried there never seemed to be an answer, and now I was being asked to give up hope, to let go of my efforts for improvement and accept what seemed inevitable – my decline into more pain, decreased mobility and ultimately a wheelchair.
I refused, and left to seek another way. But back to the start of my story…
When I was born, my feet turned inward and were set by specialists into casts for the first year of my life. They didn’t cause me many problems, only occasionally tripping me up but not stopping my joyful outdoor escapades and happy Cornish childhood. This was to change, however, after an appointment inyears later). The doctor, whom I was never to see again, explained that my feet needed breaking and resetting or I’d likely “be in a wheelchair at 40”. Without much follow up from this shocking pronouncement, and without my parents knowing the severity – being in my teens I wouldn’t let them in the appointment – I proceeded to ignore the warning and carried on with my life, completing my schooling and university. I felt great, for a while.
