Although making New Year’s resolutions is something that I’ve avoided doing in the past, living with a rare neuro-inflammatory disease has changed me in many ways… this may as well be another one of them!
There are many things that I find myself unable to do at all anymore, due to CRPS. And many more things which I can only do in a limited way, or badly.
As an example, I’ve more or less resigned myself to never again riding a road bike (a racing-style bicycle); or riding long distances in a single day. So I gave away my road bike, and switched to a slower – and heavier – commuter bike which is much more stable. I was able to buy it during an end of season sale, with some ‘help’ as an early Christmas gift ‘-)
That additional stability, of my new bicycle, is important for me, because since 2016 I’ve been riding using only one hand; my left or ‘wrong’ one. Why would I do that? My right hand and lower arm have been rendered practically unusable by Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), which was called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) until recently.
As I said, there are some activities which I can now do only… badly! So I adapt, and do what I can – when I can. One of my specialist physicians, at a university-hospital pain management unit, told me earlier this year that:
It’s not in your nature to ask what you can’t do, is it?
~ Dr. Rodrigo Diez Tafur, MD, MSc, EBPMR, FIPP
You always ask me what you can do, what you can try despite CRPS.
Keep doing that.”
(Quoted with permission; this clinician moved away a few months ago so is no longer treating me, otherwise I would not have named him.)
Another activity that I no longer do ‘properly’ is photography. I haven’t – yet! – found a way to hold and operate a camera with one hand, to change lenses, all the rest. I considered using a tripod, and realized that my photography has been mostly during outdoor sports; on my bike, hiking, snowshoeing… times when I wouldn’t want to take the time to set up a tripod.
And, of course, setting up a tripod takes even longer when you only use one hand. I may resort to that someday, but for now I’ve found a workaround. My New Year’s resolution for 2018 will be to try to adapt the principles of photography to taking one-handed smartphone pics.
Angle, composition, natural light… I want to try to shoot some half-decent ‘phone pics’, without using any filters or other photographic ‘enhancements’. My goal is to then use my best ‘pics’ to raise awareness of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) on social media, and by whichever other means I can imagine.
Ideally, I’ll be able to use my best ‘pics’ as the basis for poster-style graphics to create some interest in this disease – as well as in chronic pain conditions and rare diseases in general – on social media. I’m calling this New Year’s resolution: “Pics + Purpose”. What do you think of that name?
Orange is the colour of CRPS awareness, by the way, which is why I chose to use it in this sample image – just for you!
As always, thanks so much for stopping by the blog! I wish you all the best for 2018 – happiness, love, and well-being most of all. Take care of yourself over the holiday period, and reach out over on Instagram or Twitter if you’d like to chat via direct messaging ‘-) I love hearing from you…