Great video! Your experiences paralleled mine in many ways and we solved them in much the same manner. I was paralyzed in an auto accident when I was 21. Though my spinal cord was not severed it was crushed and didn't receive oxygen for an amount of time that rendered it a "complete" injury. I cannot tell you how many times during my initial recovery and even to this day have been told "oh your pain is what we call phantom pain" and my replies were along the lines of let me shove this phantom pain up your ass and get your reaction.
I have very little respect for doctors to this day and feel they are more pill pushers for the pharmaceutical companies than healers. It's all about treating and masking the symptoms as opposed to finding and dealing with the cause in my experiences.
I too got tired of being treated like a guinea pig where they did tests and procedures that made no sense to me. As you said, you are in a vulnerable state and at the time and I was just grasping for any help possible to get past the injury, pain, and reliance on others. I too had a great rehab nurse who changed everything for me. I ended up marrying her. Go figure. I also demanded to read my charts and had to have lawyers intervene to make that happen. The doctors and administrators were NOT HAPPY when they had to turn it over to me. I actually had a lot of costs rescinded because they could not justify many of the tests they performed purely as an educational exercise. I could go on for days on the abuses and ignorance I personally was subjected to and saw with respect to other patients.
I still to this day have abdominal pain that comes and goes often for weeks at a time. I have taken all the opiates and as you stated they just take the edge off but only made it worse when they wear off. I hated what they were doing to my mind and the feeling of dependence to only slightly make things more tolerable. Over the years I have found the best solution for me when the pain strikes is to get inside my own head to a calm place and use breathing exercises. That may sound silly but it works for me.
I most certainly have not gone through as much as you but I find it remarkable that we shared so many experiences and came to many of the same basic conclusions. I never did pursue any formal non-western medical assistance but definitely tell everyone that my best advise for anyone with a severe injury or ongoing medical issue is to take control personally and not to blindly believe what the docs say or recommend as the gospel. Do your homework!
Oddly enough and similar to your conclusions that many would say is just plain illogical I count my injury as both a traumatic experience but one that I gained so much from. I was able to excel at wheelchair tennis and basketball and travel the world doing so. I have met so many remarkable people in my journeys that I would never have encountered otherwise. A lot of good came from something so terrible. Crazy I know.
Your story should be recommended viewing for anyone enduring traumatic and painful circumstances. Well said and articulated. Bravo to you and good luck in your future endeavors.
