Healthcare for people with persistent pain in Australia is not good. I’m lucky because I’m a nurse and know how to fight for myself, writes Colleen Johnston.
I’m a single mother with three teenage boys, living on the Sunshine Coast.
Four years ago I ruptured a ligament in my left thumb while playing softball and since then I have had complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).
Due to my CRPS, I have limited employment options, resulting in financial difficulty. I’m unable to use my thumb properly, so cannot perform nursing tasks, such as taking blood or inserting IV cannulas. I work casually with the Queensland Nurses Union in Brisbane and travel for two hours by train to get there.
Private specialists’ fees add up quickly, but I can’t always wait to be seen publicly. Massage greatly helps my pain, but I can’t afford it regularly. Fortunately, Lyrica is now on the PBS and I have a healthcare card, which helps.
I have attended Nambour General Hospital’s Pain 101 and Mindfulness courses. My pain-management specialist is excellent, but my appointments are constantly rescheduled. I waited seven months for my first appointment. I was barely coping at the time. I waited four months for my first appointment with a physiotherapist. An orthopaedic clinic has made me wait two years for a follow-up appointment. There needs to be a better system.
Healthcare for people with persistent pain in Australia is not good. I’m lucky because I’m a nurse and know how to fight for myself. Medical professionals should understand the importance of timely appointments. Waiting months to see a specialist only makes pain worse. I wish Campbell Newman or Tony Abbott had CRPS: health systems would change dramatically then.
I’m currently studying a Master of Science on ‘An understanding of the lived experience of CRPS in Australia’. There’s currently no literature on this topic, so since I couldn’t find information, I decided to solve the problem myself.
If help has been so hard for me to find, how do other people cope?
National Pain Week runs until Sunday, 27 July. Click here for more information.
Related AAA story: ‘Recognise pain as chronic disease: support group’
