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Andrea Keith's avatar

Keith, I so appreciate your writing and deeply valuable insight. Today's article is one of the best. I am going to share it with several clients to help them better understand the powerful link between childhood and their current, adult conditions. So many believe it's better to remain disconnected from and, not think about the past (represented in the body). But when we do, that's when/where the healing can start. I'm so proud of you for the difficult, soul-searching work you've done and where you are today. I'm sorry for all the continuing physical pain you endure. Your gift is how you can put your words together to represent so much hope and light. Bless you kind soul. While you never deserved any of your father's destructive behavior or your mom's indifference or inability to step in to protect you, you have worked hard to find (ongoingly) a form of peace and healing. Bless you. I'm sending you white healing light for your upcoming surgery and ongoing recovery/healing. I look forward to reading your next work. A safe virtual hug and well wishes to you. You're a good person.

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Cathy McCarthy's avatar

Good luck with your TKR next week! I had both mine done in 2009 at the same time.. They were both so destroyed I wouldn't have been able to rehab otherwise. The reason I delayed so long was I was waiting for the FDA to approve a knee specifically sized for women. Working in medicine, I studied and experienced how bad outcomes were for women with men's knees. So I waited.

Thx for the book referral, and your summary. I am reading it now. Just in what you write I resonate with the whole trauma coming back to haunt you. I have had 13 surgeries, 9 orthopedic.

My trauma happened before I was even sentient. At 3 months, I contracted polio and it deformed and messed up my bone structure and nerve conduction. But this was followed by medical misogyny - doctors refusing to take my ongoing trauma of knee dislocations seriously as a child until I could no longer walk as I hit teen years. The told my parents I had a psychotic need for attention and they should physically punish me when I sought comfort for the pain my condition caused me. They followed doctor instructions. This left me with a fear of seeking medical help thinking I would be blown off for faking it.

At 17 I finally had corrective surgery that kept me on my feet until 2009, with several tuneups along the way.

What I went through pales in comparison to the brutality of your trauma, but the consequences you describe are similar. I suffer from extreme chronic pain now and am disabled from scoliosis and deteriorating major nerves that were weakened at the beginning of my life.

Looking forward to reading the book and seeing if there are lessons I can apply to how I deal with my conditions.

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