[UA] Perceptions of Pain

[Andrew Link]

Here are two personal examples:

The first: I was rushing from end of term final to end of term final, one
half the campus away from the other. I had five minutes to cover a mile.
First thing I did going down the steps of the building was bad. Real bad. I
was wearing sandals, it was spring term, it was nice outside. Well, I was
going to fast, my sandal slid out from under my foot and I sort of tripped.
I caught myself and slid down the steps on my exposed foot. These were
jagged concrete steps, not too good on my foot. I grabbed my sandal and
rushed to class. When I got there, people were staring at me. Blood was
frothing from my sandal, bubbling up from running. I shrugged and ran to my
next final and sat down. The TA looked at the steps and followed the trail
of blood to me. Blood was pouring out everywhere. All he said was, 'Your
excused to go get some help." I was dizzy, but determined to take this
fucking final. I had worked day and night for days to get ready. There was
so much blood in the aisle and under me I could smell it. So could everyone
around me. I took that damn final, aced it, went out to the bathroom to
assess the damage and promptly fainted. I had torn the pad off my big toe
completely. Somehow, the flap of skin and tissue was pressed into my shoe. A
friend was looking out for me and I woke up right and another friend helped
me to his car and I went to the health center to get it checked out. They
used paper stitches to reattach the skin to use as a natural bandage, which
worked. It healed up just fine. Really nasty shit, though. Didn't feel any
pain except from scrapes to my hand and other toes.

Extreme pain comes not from physical injury, but something far worse. I was
living in south america and I got this awful jungle rash. Fucking bastard
was camped out on my crotch and ass. Skin was drying up and sloughing off
daily, and the itch was unbearable. i raked at that mother all night
sometimes, when it got oh so bad. Tearing into your own flesh is the
absolute worst. This was not a mosquito bite or even an ant bite. This was
pure pain and frustration and irriation. Living misery, knowing that relief
is temporary. Every movement or crease of the skin set it off. Every itch
made it better, but it also made it worse. Ugh. Oh my that was bad.

But there are worse things out there. Just ask my dad. 3rd degree burns and
worse, running into a thorn tree, machete to the fingers. Oh yeah. Pain.
Pain. Pain. It sure is a thrill to share with friends.

Andrew
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