A&E Intervention Show

First off today is my birthday and I have had a really bad day.  I have been in a flare for awhile now and am over it big time.  I had a frustrating doctors appointment today and my hubby and I got into it a few times to top it off.  So I figure I'll go lie down and watch A&E Intervention.  Maybe you've already seen it as it was a repeat, but I missed it the first time and I really wanted to see this episode as it depicted Brooke, a chronic pain patient whose family felt she was a drug addict.  By the end I was so upset I could barely sit still.  I felt so bad for her.  Now I do have to agree, she had some issues, as she slirred her speech, fell into her food, had trouble going to places, like her sisters bridal shower. There is no question she was over medicated, but the way her family treated her was atrocious! Her sisters felt she got too much attention from her illness (RA), and took away from them.  Her one sister who was getting married in 2 days called her and told her it would be better for everyone if she participated in the wedding from the chairs rather than standing up for her as a bridesmaid.  You could see she was devasted. The day of the wedding she was standing outside all alone while the rest off the family was gathered inside.  Her dad came and got her and as soon as she went in she started to cry.  It was like she wasn't even part of the family. Then her other sister banned her from coming to the birth of her child.  They told her someone would call her.  After she had the baby, they showed her holding him while Brooks mom and dad were both on cell phones calling other family members.  Brooke finally called and asked if the baby was born yet and her mother in a nasty tone said yes and were busy and hung up on her.  Brooke was so upset that nobody called her.  I sobbed for her.  I know that feeling so well of being left out and persecuted.  They figured she was a junkie and they were going to disown her. During the pre-intervention they brought in an addictionologist who dealt with chronic pain and addictions.  He tried telling them that she was in pain and taking a little extra at night so she could sleep and not feel pain was "OK" for her , but then she ends up passed out on the kitchen floor, so their needs to be a different way.  THe whole time he's talking, the one sister is rolling her eyes as she's made up her mind her sister is a addict as is over it.  By the time they do the intervention, her parents say they are sorry and that they "get " it now.  She says she'll go and the follow-up at the end of the show says after she saw the tape she said she was an addict, and was on different meds, but I thought it was a little misleading and wish they would do a full follow-up. It just brought up for me all those years of fighting for validation and how painfull it was. At one point her family says they want that sparkle back and they want the old Brooke back.  I yelled at the TV, she can' t give you that back as chronic pain has taken that from her. Yes I know we have to do the best we can to function but I'm not going to be naive that chronic pain hasn't robbed so mnay things from me.  It has robbed my dignaty(how many medical people have seen me naked, I don't even care anymore). It's robbed the best years of my life, my career, my hope of having children, and so many small things I can't even count.  Now I am going to continue to fight to live my life and to have fun when I can, but to think I will get the person back that I was before chronic pain and disease is ludacris .  Geez just the lack of sleep anymore is enough to take the twinkle out of anybody's eye.   Well I certainly didn't mean to ramble on like that, I just felt so bad for her (and me). Happy Birthday to me:-)