empathy here....Before Thanksgiving I did one of those 'falls'. Went to the 'Urgent care' rather than a hospital ER to shorten [?] the wait time...took only 5 hours instead of the ER 10+? Because of the 'balance' issues, fell, and at first diagnosed w/ a fractured knee cap. Later another fracture was found on the other side. POINT? I was asked what my pain level was.
Response? I refuse to do 'Happy faces' They have NO relevance. I KNOW this pain is short term [?] but compared to the PN 'ONSET', doesn't exceed it, BUT is near...

For me, now, what should be a '10+' is well, commonplace. I don't try to think of the pain, or lack of same. The lack of pain, either thru blocks or nerve-severing is in most cases un-acceptable,because it is a safety hazard. ESPECIALLY IN THE FEEL. Again, in my own case, I CHOSE to be explicit in my own Mastectomy instructions to my specialist surgeon were that I DID NOT want to have to experience 'intermittent nerve-regrowth' as an aspect of aftermath of my surgery. Imagine, the zeeps zaps and PAIN in other areas? In the feet, any feeling, even pain, is a GOOD thing, that I can FEEL is one heck of a safety measure.

There are no quick fixes - only decisions and the consequences to live with...Hopefully all the ramifications were informed. - j