September is Pain Awareness Month.

I’ve written about Pain Awareness Month before, last year in 2022 and back in 2021. 

This year, though, I don’t know what I can write that is new or offers a fresh take on chronic pain. I think that’s largely because I have been trying to deal with increasing pain. Basically, my pain is worse — in intensity and in location. (For many years, pain was limited to my left calf. That is no longer the case. Now, it’s my left calf, my left thigh, both knees, and since about two weeks ago, my left foot.)

This could very easily be a glass-is-half-empty type of blog post. 

But it’s not.

Because my son (now a sophomore in high school) shared something with me the other day that I think is defining worth writing about here.

On the drive home from school, my son told me about what he had to do that day during his Physical Education class. The laps around the track he ran. The stadium stairs he had to climb up and down, up and down, multiple times. 

By the time class was done, he was super uncomfortable. Sweaty. Slightly out of breath. All of which is to be expected.

“I know it’s not the same thing, but my knees were really hurting. It was hard to get dressed and then climb the stairs to my next class. And it made me think that this must be like what it is for you. But like, all the time,” he said. 

And I think my son’s comments truly illustrate the concept of Pain Awareness. No one can ever truly know my pain, but me. But this connection my son made, this attempt at putting himself in my shoes, was a beautiful gift he gave me.