I have a friend named Paige. I had the pleasure of getting to see her when I checked into physical therapy yesterday. I have known her for just under a year, yet I feel like I have known her longer. Ya see, Paige is one of these people that is what I like to call the "insta-friend". You meet her and she is your friend. It's a lost art really, one that you usually only see in children, yet in a more mature fashion. I think that if I believed in reincarnation that she would have been one of those kindred spirits that I knew quite well in a past life. It's one of the many things that I like about Paige.
As I walked into physical therapy I was greeted by a small line at the check-in desk. There was an elderly lady who was there for her first day and was asking all kinds of questions thus causing the line. It caused me to not do my usual "let's check this joint out" look around like I normally do. So I was pleasantly suprised as I wrote in my "in" time to hear, "Why hello friend!", from across the room and see Paige sitting in the corner with her fiance'. I quickly went to sit by her to catch up on how she was doing.
Paige also has fibromyalgia and is also searching for answers. She started physical therapy after she heard how well it was helping me so I was interested to hear how she was doing. She was having a rough day. It was cold and rainy out so it wasn't helping her situation. Paige also was born with a muscular issue that affects her right side. She has had to undergo several surgeries to fix various issues related to this, with the latest being a reconstructive surgery to help fix her right hand so that it functions more normal. Anyone who has fibro knows that surgery elevates the symptoms of fibromyalgia and makes recovery even that much harder. You would never know this with Paige. She focuses on how well her past surgery went. She had a beautiful butterfly splint on and she showed me the ways that she could adjust it so that it would not rub her skin raw. She told me about her physical therapy and how she had forgone the water therapy for a preference to stay on land based exercises and said that she was doing well with those. Paige, due to her rough day, was going to ask for the "warm burrito special" as she called it. It is where they place a tens unit on your sore muscles, wrap you up in moist heat and blankets, and you lay there for 20 minutes and just bask in the "feel goods". That is followed up with massage and stretching. I was jealous to be honest. I am well on my road to recovery so I pretty much can kiss the burrito good-bye for now.
What I love about Paige is that, even in all that she has to deal with, she is still in a good mood. She smiles and laughs. She shows you her progress rather than what is still wrong. She giggles and makes you feel like you are her best friend for the time that you are with her. She loves to find the things that you have in common and share details to make you know her better. Hence the reason that in under a year I feel like I know this girl really well and I have only hung out with her a handful of times and followed her on Facebook. She is also a wealth of knowledge when it comes to medical problems. She has been put through the ringer for so long that she pretty much should be a doctor herself and is going to be an awesome nurse someday because of it. Paige is always willing to share her knowledge with anyone and does so to help them overcome, just as she has. It's just awesome having a friend like this.
So Paige, if you read this, which I figure you will, thank you for being you. You inspire me. You make me want to keep fighting this battle with fibromyalgia. Thank you for being an insta-friend and for making the world a better place. Don't let the rude and mean people of this world bring you down, even though I don't really think that is possible for them to do to you. I think if there were more "Paige"s in the world, it would be a much nicer and happier place. And I also hope that all of you who read this have a "Paige" in your life to make your life a happier place and make you want to keep fighting this disease. So keep fighting Paige and to the readers of this blog, keep fighting too!
No comments:
Post a Comment