tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977195274999180297.post5525234931037715996..comments2023-05-05T02:55:31.459-07:00Comments on The Girl Who Lived: Fast Forward, Part 1Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813577761881391935noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977195274999180297.post-68809189302125846662011-11-09T09:35:40.438-08:002011-11-09T09:35:40.438-08:00"This is not a story about a car accident. It..."This is not a story about a car accident. It's not a chronicle of loss. This is a tale of survival."<br /><br />When I read this, I feel like I am watching that part of Casablanca where the Nazis start singing "Das Lied der Deutschen" and everybody else in the bar stands up and starts singing "La Marseillaise." In other words, this is badassery at its best. Samuel L. Jackson wishes he were you right now.<br /><br />"The migraine pain follows a classic pattern: it begins as tension in my neck and shoulders, then creeps its arms upward over the top of my head..."<br /><br />I am sorry about the pain. Pain is unrelentingly gruelling. Like you, I have a history of chronic pain, though it is nowhere near as bad as yours. It's like being underwater. There are voices up above, but they are muted, and everything moves slowly. Reaction times are delayed. Light is distorted or prevented from reaching you. Everything is filtered through the medium that you are swimming in, the liquid pain. <br /><br />What strikes me here is that *your* pain, with its arms, clearly has its own body. I've never thought about pain having a body before, but there it is. It's like a parasitic twin. You write so very, very well, and this image will stick with me.<br /><br />"I'd jolt into hyper-awareness, suck in a gasping breath, I can breathe I can breathe; shoot my arms out from my sides to feel the empty space there, I can move, yes, I can move; plant my feet back on the floor to feel its solidity and bring me back to here, now, and go about the business of doggy-paddling my head back above the murky water of whatever that was." <br /><br />I don't think I've ever seen a more vivid description of PTSD, and I've read a ton of first-person war accounts. Oh, my God, your pain and horror are water too. I swear I didn't look ahead and steal that from you!<br /><br />"It took longer than it should have. Things required for self-care usually do, with me."<br /><br />Yes. That is how it is with survivors, and to some degree, with women. I have a friend who will do anything for her son, and virtually nothing for her own benefit. If you want her to take care of herself, you have to say, "OK, if the boy were experiencing thus-and-such, what would you do for *him*?"<br /><br />You are genuinely gifted. I would love to see you write a book on your journey.Mirith Griffinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977195274999180297.post-67514518350212573292011-11-06T12:38:05.144-08:002011-11-06T12:38:05.144-08:00Kate, after 53 years of perfectly average life, in...Kate, after 53 years of perfectly average life, including emotional abuse as a kid, and a physically debilitating illness as an adult, I have learned that nothing happens without a purpose. I have learned that every experience, without exception (no matter how much I want to identify exceptions), happens to bring me closer to God and to deepen my faith and awareness of the presence of a higher power in my life. I have learned that no matter what happens to my physical body, I am not my physical body, and that it is possible to trust in God even when the physical pain is excruciating. I completely get your desire to clear the old energy and to understand the experience. Just remember, your true self, the part that will live forever, has never been damaged and remains true and beautiful.Dianenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977195274999180297.post-15496408146024715582011-11-05T20:23:33.162-07:002011-11-05T20:23:33.162-07:00I am really enjoying Your blog, Katie!I am really enjoying Your blog, Katie!Rocionoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977195274999180297.post-400379223795423512011-11-05T18:07:45.560-07:002011-11-05T18:07:45.560-07:00AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Don't leave us two week...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Don't leave us two weeks without a post! I'm dying to know what happened!Sarahnoreply@blogger.com