Folks who know me generally know that I adore Halloween. My Scottish-born (and proudly Canadian) grandma would gleefully tell her grandkids that: it’s possible to trace its beginnings back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (Samhuinn in Gaelic), held on 1 November, which marked Read More …
Because I live in the Montréal area, and speak both English and French, I’ll sometimes play with words using both languages. This is a perfect opportunity to do just that. The word for ‘fog’ in French is ‘brouillard’, pronounced like ‘brew-yard’ with an almost-silent ‘d’ Read More …
I’m still waiting to find out whether I’ll be accepted as a patient, at a multi-disciplinary Pain Management Unit (PMU). The wait is nerve-wracking, and it’s always on my mind (cue the old song lyrics!), so I thought it would be interesting to tell you a Read More …
Something rather extraordinary happened last month. A new medical journal article was published, on Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Because it’s a rare disease, often still referred to by one of its previous names – Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) – it’s uncommon to see an article about Read More …
The word ‘pain’ is all around me, every day, and I just noticed it. It’s on billboards and in flyers, in grocery stores, newspapers, and restaurants. It even shows up on the side of city buses! Not because of advertising for pain medications, or raising Read More …
It’s done. Earlier today I finally submitted a Service Quality and Complaints Commission Dissatisfaction Form, to the hospital where the diagnosis of my disease was delayed by almost three months. Why was it delayed? Because – in my view – a specialist physician ignored its signs Read More …
