People who live with chronic pain usually know more about this than those who may reasonably look forward to feeling better soon. To live with pain on a daily basis is to be involved in a high-maintenance relationship. To make peace with the pain can require as much energy as fighting it. Things you once did without thinking—rising, dressing, eating, walking—now take concerted effort, if not paid help. Who is this person who cannot do such simple things? Who is this person who cannot help anyone, not even herself?
