Teen daughter suffering with Chronic pain

poplio
poplio Online Community Member Posts: 1 Listener
in Families and carers
Hi I am just wondering if there is anyone else who has a teen with Chronic pain. Diagnosed 16 months ago and now needs a wheelchair to get around outside. It's hard as she is a physically active child. Hobbies were badminton, horse riding and fencing all of which she has had to stop due to chronic pain in joints and not being able to push herself off from the floor when she fell of a horse. So hard how to keep her motivated.

Comments

  • Rosie_Scope
    Rosie_Scope Posts: 6,468 Scope Online Community Coordinator
    Welcome @poplio, sorry to hear your daughter is struggling. I'm not a parent, but I was a teen with chronic pain and health issues myself so I can understand a little bit of what your daughter must be going through. 

    I was a very active child before things got rough too, and it can be really horrible to have to adjust or say goodbye to hobbies you once loved. There can be a lot of grief involved for your 'old life', so it's really important your daughter is looking after her mental health and getting plenty of support. I know the waiting times can be terrible these days, but it's well worth putting some mental health care in place if you haven't already. And just being ready to listen when she needs to talk about things is always good too. 

    I found it really helpful to surround myself with people who understood what I was going through and was lucky enough to find a support group of people my age with similar conditions. That was really helpful for times when I didn't feel like the adults around me fully understood. Some of that was online chats, and some was in person at organised groups, so it could be a good idea to look into whether there's anything in your area your daughter could join. 

    I actually found a bit of freedom from playing computer games that involved horse riding or sport as I could play without the physical pain of the real thing, but I know that's not for everyone and might even feel like rubbing salt in the wound for some. 

    Otherwise, I just tried lots of different gentle hobbies to see if anything sparked joy, mostly arts and crafts or music based hobbies. And when I could, I tried to join in with manageable clubs too so that I wasn't totally isolated. After a while, I found a few things that kept me busy and gave me something to focus on and a couple of those have become lifelong hobbies. It wasn't always easy and I got very frustrated at times, but I did eventually come to terms with the change to my lifestyle and found things that helped me stay motivated.

    I don't think there are any wrong or right answers on what to do as it's such a personal thing to go through, but I hope some of what I've written is helpful and that you and your daughter find a way forward :)

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