The Zilla Zone

It's been really great to hear from so many people about your being able to relate to the Facezilla episodes or just plain old trying to eat out. It's so good to know that we do not walk the journey by ourselves. I'm not discounting the times that we feel alone or the times when everyone leaves us to be alone with the pain for a while.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could create a pain-free zone? And while we are doing it, let's include all types of pain: physical, (yes! no pain anywhere) mental (no PhD for me!), emotional (How do you mend a broken heart? Ask the Bee Gees)or financial (Bailed out and debts cancelled).

Let's think about this: day after day without any type of pain in us or around us. That's the kind of life that I would love to have, but let's face it: pain is part of life. All we can do is deal with it the best we can and try to make decisions about tomorrow to the best of our ability. The decisions can seem endless, overwhelming, gut-wrenching.

For people who have face pain, whether it is oral or trigeminal or neuropathic: can you get a second opinion? If you have a procedure and the statistics say 5% of people will experience numbness, are you willing to find out what facial numbness entails? How long it might last? Are you prepared to be one of the 5 percent?

Are we willing to pay out of pocket for procedures that might actually make the pain worse? It happens often. It happened with my jaw. By the grace of God, I'm not angry about it. Someone tried to help me, but it didn't work.

OK so I have written a book. I have a website and a tiny faith-based forum where Believers pray for one another. I am a certified rehabilitation counselor, and I have been the director of patient services for tna, the facial pain association. But none of it gives me my money back, erases the pain, or guarantees me that tomorrow I'll live in a no pain of any kind zone. None of it makes me a giant, who can tower above these experiences just because I have insight into them. I'm someone who makes a lot of mistakes, someone who still needs more energy than I currently have. I'm someone who depends on God to get me through the day. Any day.

I thank God that I have no pain today, and I whisper a prayer for everyone who is experiencing facial pain. No one deserves it. Definitely not you. Please be kind to yourself.