NICIAW - Pain

An unnamed reader writes:

I've had pain for years but due to being uninsured + in the United States ("greatest medical system in the world," I laughed when I found out people called it that) I've never been diagnosed with anything. I know that I have bone spurs in my feet. I hope I don't have arthritis, because my whole career is based on my ability to move, and if I lose my career I have nothing.

My best theory is that my cartilage was so worn down by the schedule I had to follow when I was trafficked that the bones began to grind together. I worked 20-22 hours a day every day for years. Every time I used to take a step the bones would grind. I just got used to it. There are no gadgets that help this, however I find it is very important to stay warm enough and I have rice bags that I heat up and use to soothe the joints. I'd say my greatest gadget is my pain tolerance, which is very very high.

I would not choose a visible illness over this. If I had a visible illness, I'd never be hired, and the amount of sympathy from other people would not be great enough to cover the loss. People would see my illness before they saw my accomplishments, I think, and things like that really annoy me.

If I could change one thing, I'd make the United States have a universal free health care system. I'll pay more taxes, certainly would be lower than the $200/month I would pay for private insurance if I had money like that.