Beautiful as always, Bram.

I am about 16 months into my journey and don't really know how I feel yet. I am still working full-time which, as you can imagine, is a struggle. I am so grateful that I am able to work but I am also so very tired. Being in pain is exhausting, especially when you spend most of your time pretending not to be in pain.

One thing that I feel I have lost to some extent is the ability to be understood by others. No one has ever even heard of CRPS/RSD. The people closest to me in my family have researched it and understand it as much as you can without having it. But the other people in my life haven't researched it at all. They only know what I tell them about it and that is only the most basic of information, given in a very brief conversation. I know some people have had experiences with medical professionals not believing the severity of the pain so how can I expect my colleagues to understand? The pain feels like a secret that keeps me standing just apart from everyone else.

KimA