Chronic illness Pain Support

Pain Blog Carnival

The March Pain-Blog Carnival is now posted at How to Cope with Pain, featuring the month's best posts. See  http://www.howtocopewithpain.org/blog/220/pain-blog-carnival-march/

Don't Miss 20/20 this Friday, March 28th

Amazing man... amazing faith

This Friday 2020 is featuring Nick Vujicic from Life Without Limbs Ministries.

Nick’s ministry, Life Without Limbs, is an affiliate of Joni and Friends, as Rest Ministries is.

Nick is an amazing guy and it’s absolutely WONDERFUL that he is going to be on 20/20 this week. I know he will inspire anyone and everyone who watches. How can you see the hand he was dealt from the Lord, and yet not also see the joy he radiates from the Lord and not be inspired or want to know more about the God he serves?

I highly encourage you to tune in. If you miss it, his web site alone will be an inspiration. And forward this to your family and friends.

He writes in his email announcement...

Several days ago ABC’s 20/20 program interviewed me at my home here in Southern California. What a remarkable opportunity to share about Life Without Limb’s ministry and the impact that we are having upon thousands throughout the United States and the world!

The 20/20 broadcast will air this Friday, March 28th at 9:00pm PST/EST. (Check your local listings)

It is my greatest desire to faithfully share the life-changing, obstacle-overcoming, gospel message with as many people as I can. As a man with no arms or legs, my very testimony breaks down barriers to express the hope that can be found only in Jesus Christ.

The country of the United States needs this hope right now! Would you pray with me that God will use the 20/20 interview to stir up souls for the Kingdom? This is my first national interview on American television and the questions of the interviewer guided the conversation continually back to hope in Christ.
Here are some ways we can work together to make the most of this incredible opportunity:

1. Please pray that God will use the 20/20 interview to awaken souls to Him.

2. Please forward this e-mail to all of your friends.

I am looking forward to hearing from you in the days to come. May our Lord bless you and ignite His will in your life today!

In His service,
Nick


If you go to his web site lifewithoutlimbs.org you can read more and also see a clip of the video while they were filming 20/20.

Hope you enjoy!

Lisa

5 Ways to Surrender Frustrations of Living with Invisible Illness

This article is free to reprint as long as nothing is changed. If you use it, I'd love to hear from you to say thanks!
Lisa

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5 Ways to Surrender
Frustrations of Living
with Invisible Illness

By Lisa Copen

"But you look fine. Are you sure you're as feeling as bad as you say?" "You haven't really experienced chronic fatigue until you've tried to raise three children on your own!" "I think it you just got out of the house more and didn't think about it so much, it may just heal itself." "If you were serious about trying to get well, you'd at least try those vitamins I recommended. It never hurts to try."

And the remarks go on. . . and on.

And it hurts.

You may be surprised to hear that nearly 1 in 2 Americans has a chronic illness or physical condition that affects their daily life. The range of diseases and included everything from back pain to fibromyalgia, arthritis to cancer, and migraines to diabetes. Oftentimes, one of the largest emotional stumbling blocks for people who suffer from illness is the invisibility of the pain. About 96% of illness is invisible. This means that the person who suffers from the chronic condition show no outward signs of physical pain or disability, nor does he or she use an assistive device like a walker or wheelchair. But the incredible pain each day can be disabling within the confines of the home.

If you have an invisible illness here are 5 tools to help let go of some of the frustrations:

[1] Let go of expectations. This may be a life-long process, but you will consistently find that people will always disappoint you, as no one is perfect-including you! Remember, you don't understand the difficulties that your friends are going through, whether it's a divorce, the death of a loved one, a loss job, an ill child, etc. Your illness is significant in your life. Even when people care, they still will have significant things going on in their own lives.

[2] Find supportive friends. If there is someone who is constantly belittling you or doubting your illness and he is beyond listening, let go of that friendship or distant yourself from that relative. Illness has a way of helping prioritize friendships and spend our limited energies with those that mean the most to us.

[3] Search for blessings in your life. Make a commitment to stop dwelling on how badly you feel, and instead search for ways to bring more joy into your life, even if it's just appreciating the small things. What are you doing when you feel natural adrenaline kick in and give you extra energy? Most likely, that's where your passions are! Bring more of these into your life. And don't let your limitations stop you. For example, if you once loved to garden, now you could grow a few potted flowers or hire a neighborhood teenager to plant some vegetables and set up an automatic sprinkler system. If you want to aim high, consider starting a garden consulting business.

[4] Use your aptitude and talent for things you have a personal interest in. Too often we feel like the skills we learned in the workplace are no longer valuable. Perhaps you've always wanted to write children's books or be a business consultant. Get involved in your community and do some volunteer or part-time work to continue to grow professionally. Rather than focusing on what others aren't doing to comfort you, follow your dreams and give that gift of comfort to yourself.

[5] Encourage someone else. You personally know how hard it is to live with illness and to feel like no one understands. So take time to be vulnerable with someone else who is going through this. Whether you meet someone through an online group such as National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week's message boards, or through your local support group, volunteer your time and expertise (yes, you're an expert on living with invisible illness!) and use it to make someone else's journey easier and you'll find your own is more enjoyable too. Are you frustrated that no one at your church thinks your invisible illness is real? Rather than stop going to church, find ways to educate them, such as a column in the church newsletter or brochures about National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. These say what to say/not to say to a chronically ill person.

None of us have the capability to force another person to change, or to make them care. But we can educate them and give gentle advice. We must also continue to work on ourselves, however, because you will find that even when you want to change it can be a real challenge. It requires discipline and motivation for a better life. You owe it to yourself to find joy despite your illness, and by focusing on how you can change your circumstances, instead of change other people, you'll be much more rewarded.

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Instant download of 200 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend from "Beyond Casseroles" by Lisa Copen when you <a href="http://www.restministries.org/res-ezine_ill.htm">signup for HopeNotes</a> invisible illness ezine at Rest Ministries. Lisa is the coordinator of <a href="http://www.invisibleillness.com">Invisible Illness Awareness</a>

20 Ways Your Church Can Minister to the Chronically Ill in 20 Minutes or Less

This article is free to reprint. Please do not make changes, and we love to hear where it will be reprinted so we can say thanks!

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Rest Ministries, the largest Christian organization that serves the chronically ill, recently did a poll, asking "List some of the programs or resources a church could offer to make it more inviting comfortable" Below is a sampling of the 800+ responses.

1. Encouragement emails.

2. Make an effort to confirm that the handicapped stalls in the restroom are functioning and clean.

3. Add padded chairs or cushions to make church easier to sit through. Room for wheelchairs is always a need and don't forget to include extra places for family members.

4. An open attitude for a support group like HopeKeepers. It would make me feel very special that there was an understanding of needs that are not always visible.

5. More disabled parking, even if they are temporary spots.

6. An awareness on the part of the ushers that those arriving late may have difficulty walking or getting out of cars.

7. Ask volunteers to call people with chronic illness just to check on them when they don't make it to services.

8. When suppers are given, recognize that I may need help getting my meal--or at least understand that I won't be able to wait in a long line.

9. Be cautious when giving people big hugs. It can topple over or hurt the person.

10. Video tape of the service for DVD, don't just do a live web cast. My computer doesn't work that well.

11. Check out the church doors. Can someone with an illness open them with ease?  If not, install a mechanical button to push them open.

12. Stop telling me that if I truly believed and had faith I'd be healed by now. Please don't go on and on about how good I look even though I know for a fact that I look terrible and miserable that day.

13. Offer me ways to serve within the church that can be performed regularly, but not on a set schedule. I still want to contribute, but I need some flexibility so that I can do a job when I feel well enough to do so.

14. Make the sermon notes available to download and print out so I can listen later or even just review what I didn't catch the first time.

15. Acknowledge National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. A selection of books on the topic in the church bookstore would be nice. Rest Ministries has a top 100 list of Christian books for the chronically ill for some ideas.

16. Just talk about chronic illness! Mention it in sermons as one of the challenges many people face just like unemployment.

17. Have Christian volunteers from church that will clean house for small fee.  Some have offered to clean my house, but I cannot accept charity yet, but neither can I afford to pay a regular house cleaning service.

18. Help even a fraction with the cost of encouraging books and resources for the church library for the chronically ill.

19. Remember all of the caregivers in the church--not just caregivers of parents, but spouses and ill children as well.

20. Have copies of sermon for free on CD or computer.

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Get a free list of 200 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend from "Beyond Casseroles" by Lisa Copen, just signup for to HopeNotes invisible illness ezine at Rest Ministries. Lisa founded of Invisible Illness Week