Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Johninco's (John S) story

Hey, everyone. I'm a newbie here and my story has just been published on the Stories page.

If you read it you'll have a better understanding of the comments I make in the forums.

I look forward to getting to know all of you.

Feel free to comment or question, folks.

Hi John, I read your story - the pain you indured, I understand. I live with pain. Allergies/bronchial Asthma, stops me from taking meds.

The pain from war related injures, I will never know, and I wished you had never had to endure. Golfing - the first and last game, I won a trophy for being the worse player :o)

Glad you have joined KickAS, a family of friends.

Hugs
Gerri

Hi John,

I don't know if I had a chance to welcome you to KickAS.

Congratulations on your book. What an accomplishment! The premise seems like something I would be interested in. How long did it take to write it? How is it selling? Can it be bought only online or is it in bookstores also.

How are you doing healthwise? If you mentioned it before I missed it.

My Dad wrote a book and was published. I give you alot of credit, putting yourself out there.

Thanks for sharing

Thank you!

The injury that got me the Heart was silly and stupid, just as my uncle said it would be.

We're all quite different here, yet so much the same. I'm so pleased and relieved to find that common ground. Together we can keep on keepin' on.

Thank you for both!

The book took about six months to write, and I've got another on the way. It fills what would otherwise be maddeningly dull days.

It's not selling at all and currently it is my only income. That is the reason I add it to my signature everywhere I correspond. It can only be purchased through Createspace or Amazon. No book chains have picked it up yet. I may be able to get into AAFES, the Armed Forces stores, in the fall, which would help immensely.

Healthwise I'm hanging in there with Tramadol and Gabapentin. After reading some of the symptoms of others here I feel pretty fortunate. I try to move about as much as I can (not much) and work on finding things I can still do. As I said in my story I have an insane pain tolerance.

What was your Dad's book? My reading preferences are pretty eclectic.

John, just read your story. Thank you for your service to our country, first off. Your injury was not "silly or stupid" it was courageous. Believe it or not, I can identify with the attitude of tough it out, don't complain, pain is a state of mind, if you complain you're weak mentality. I was raised the same and in turn, like you had already suffered 25 years of damage before I was diagnosed. I was an athlete, a machinist and welder and figured that was the reason for my physical problems. Now, there is nothing to be done to help me either and my docs keep me functional with pain meds.
Congrats on the novel. I sure hope you are able to get some kind of contract to sell.
Cindy

Thank you, Cindy, for your kind greeting. I'm so sorry we're in the same boat for much the same reasons.

Re: my one small wound, trust me-- it was silly and stupid. By being in the wrong place at the wrong time I took a BB sized chunk of white phosphorus in the same place as Forrest Gump. It burned it's way a couple inches into the gluteus. For a long time I thought the pain was from that. It turned out to be mostly from my deteriorating sacroiliac, but I wouldn't know that for thirty years.

I'd love to get a contract too. Positive reviews from people who buy it and read it can help that happen. It's hard to market with no money.

Again, thanks for your kind greeting. I feel welcome here.

John,

I would also like to say thank-you for your service to our country, if not for men and woman like you Im not sure where we would be as a country.

You just showed what this disease stands for it does not discriminate, it can hit anyone at anytime. Im sure serving they have to have some kind of keep it moving soldier but I have also learned that we need to listen to our bodies WE are the best indicators when something is wrong.

I have also been there looking in the nightstand at the .45 and have had the same thought I have 4 kids and a 5th grandbaby on the way, but that doesn't stop wishing just for a while the pain would completely go away, the ONLY time it is for me anymore is when I am in the hospital pumped up on morphine.

I look forward to hearing more information from you and I am glad that you found us.

Hugs

Angelmom, thank you for your warm welcome!

I totally empathize with and relate to your wish that the pain would somehow go away completely for awhile. People who don't have AS can't understand what we live with 24/7/365. I'm sorry your pain is so bad. One reason I don't try .45 ACP analgesia is the very remote possibility that it might not be lethal. An AA friend's son lobotomized himself that way. Living like that looks more unpleasant than what we have now, and would likely render me even more ugly than I currently am, so I restrict my shooting to the range.

Life in the Rangers or any of the other special operations units is a completely different level of insanity than serving in a "normal" unit. They actually train us to ignore pain which would prostrate sane people. That and my natural extreme pain tolerance is how I ignored my pain in the AS for more than thirty years, only seeking treatment when my body stopped talking and started shouting deafeningly.

Where would we be as a country? I know many young men and women who are serving in uniform currently and who will be our business and political leaders of tomorrow. In spite of the seeming morass we see around us right now, the future is in outstandingly good hands.

I'm rambling...again, thanks for your warm welcome.