{"id":12439,"date":"2017-05-19T11:11:08","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T15:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=12439"},"modified":"2017-05-19T11:11:16","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T15:11:16","slug":"woman-with-chronic-illness-finds-strength-in-adeles-lyrics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2017\/05\/woman-with-chronic-illness-finds-strength-in-adeles-lyrics.html","title":{"rendered":"Woman with Chronic Illness Finds Strength in Adele’s Lyrics"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"lead_960\"<\/a>\u201cShould I give up<\/em>
\nOr should I just keep chasing pavements?<\/em>
\nEven if it leads nowhere<\/em>
\nOr would it be a waste?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2013 Adele<\/p>\n

I woke up to this Adele song stuck in my head today and at first I thought it was just a nice melody to sing along to, since I knew the words so well. But then I started to think about the lyrics above, and much deeper thoughts began to run through my mind. The first two lines of this song so\u00a0vividly capture my journey with\u00a0chronic pain. \u201cHow so?\u201d you may ask.<\/p>\n

Well, for 16 years I was the person who was\u00a0\u201cchasing pavements.\u201d I\u00a0had a mystery illness that led me to have to search the entire country for an answer. I had severe heel pain and\u00a0back pain\u00a0and could not walk, stand, or sit. No doctor understood what was causing it and no test would reveal it\u2019s answer. It completely consumed my life. I didn\u2019t understand what was happening to me. I was a healthy girl, who at 15 starting having debilitating bilateral heel pain and burning. And\u00a0despite seeing numerous specialists throughout the country, not one had a clue what was causing this unusual\u00a0pain.<\/p>\n

I remember so clearly doctors saying to me and my mom, \u201cThis is very complicated\u2026 I wish I had an answer.\u201d I also remember at the age of 16 a thoughtless doctor saying, \u201cI have no idea what this is, and for the amount of money your insurance pays me\u2026 I\u2019ve spent enough time with you.\u201d But,\u00a0despite the endless disappointing and frustrating\u00a0doctor\u2019s appointments, off we would go to search for another doctor who could possibly have\u00a0the\u00a0<\/em>answer to making me well. Sadly, it took till I was 31\u00a0years old to get the correct and confirming\u00a0diagnosis that I had a form of Seronegative Inflammatory Arthritis (meaning Arthritis that doesn’t show up in blood and imaging tests, as most Inflammatory Arthritis typically does).<\/p>\n

So, as you can see\u00a0for 16 years of my life\u00a0I had two options: \u201cKeep chasing pavements\u201d or \u201cgive up.\u201d I chose to keep chasing pavements\u2026 even though I knew it could lead nowhere. There were countless number of\u00a0times where I wanted to give up in finding an answer, so many heartbreaking moments that I could tell you. The deep agony of experiencing physical pain that had no name and no one understood. The endless friends that gave up\u00a0on me, because they could not understand\u00a0my invisible pain. The painfulness of living a\u00a0life on the sidelines while I watched my peers and friends do everything I wanted to do, but could not.<\/p>\n

I could have so easily given up and taken the\u00a0doctor\u2019s advice (which several ones offered me)\u00a0which was\u00a0to get used to the pain because there was no way to treat it. I could have fallen into a deep despair, and lost hope that I could ever have any kind of life. But, despite my moments, I didn\u2019t.\u00a0 I never gave up on my faith<\/em> and strong belief \u00a0<\/em>that there was an answer to be revealed.\u00a0 I kept chasing pavements to find this answer, because I knew there was one.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, even though I now have the answer, it doesn\u2019t mean I am still not chasing pavements every day. My journey is far from over. I am still trying to find the right medication to bring me the relief I need to create an independent life. I am still trying to find meaning and purpose in my life despite the chronic pain I face. And, I am still searching for love which I hope to find in a special man who can understand what I\u2019ve been through and still go through.<\/p>\n

So, no, I don\u2019t think it would be a \u201cwaste\u201d to \u201ckeep chasing pavements,\u201d because giving up is not an option for me and it shouldn\u2019t be for you.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of\u00a0Lauren Blumer\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cShould I give up Or should I just keep chasing pavements? Even if it leads nowhere Or would it be a waste?\u201d \u2013 Adele I woke up to this Adele song stuck in my head today and at first I thought it was just a nice melody to sing along to, since I knew the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":600,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7,8],"tags":[3060,1085,1257,587],"class_list":["post-12439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-celebrities","category-entertainment","category-music","tag-adele","tag-faith","tag-inspiration","tag-music-2"],"yoast_head":"\nWoman with Chronic Illness Finds Strength in Adele's Lyrics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After years of frustration, Lauren found comfort and hope in singer Adele's inspirational and motivating lyrics.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2017\/05\/woman-with-chronic-illness-finds-strength-in-adeles-lyrics.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Woman with Chronic Illness Finds Strength in Adele's Lyrics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After years of frustration, Lauren found comfort and hope in singer Adele's inspirational and motivating lyrics.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2017\/05\/woman-with-chronic-illness-finds-strength-in-adeles-lyrics.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Idol Chatter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-19T15:11:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-05-19T15:11:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" 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