I am thrilled to be an Ambassador with the US Pain Foundation and be able to formally announce our new pain awareness campaign
People with Pain Matter
People with Pain Matter is an online community dedicated to raising public awareness of the impact of chronic pain on the lives of nearly 100 million Americans. The opioid-abuse epidemic is a tragedy, one that requires a thoughtful, national response. However, our country’s response to the opioid epidemic has had drastic, unintended consequences for people suffering with pain. We support public policy to combat opioid addiction and drug overdose while additionally recognizing the needs of people with chronic pain. Furthermore, we are committed to reshaping our nation’s dialog on pain, strengthening the nation’s investment in new therapies that reduce the crisis of chronic pain and allowing those living with pain to maintain necessary and timely access to pain relief without labels and stigmatization. Through legislative and regulatory action, media engagement and social media mobilization, we encourage policymakers, media and other healthcare stakeholders to recognize the needs of people with chronic pain and to enact public policy that recognizes People with Pain Matter.
Visit the website www.peoplewithpainmatter.org by clicking the image below and supporting this campaign by telling congress, telling the media, or telling your personal chronic pain story. The more voices that are heard the more we as a nation can begin to repaint the picture and the faces of chronic pain in the United States.
Additionally, I was inspired to pen a poem titled Make Believe during this past weekend’s Ambassador Summit. In order to help you understand how we feel I’ve included the first stanza of the poem below:
Make Believe poem by Calvin Eaton
- what could I do to me
- To make you believe the pain that lives inside this body
- paint a picture with the grotesque imagery
- Or shots of viles , cannabis, or opiod coated candies
- walk with canes, limps, or a sad face showing my aching nightmares and insomnia dreams
download the full version here
