Despite the Pain
July 6, 2026
Author: David Lister
David is a paralegal with a background in writing and teaching. He was diagnosed with hypermobility in his thirties and spondyloarthritis in his forties. Originally from Kansas City, he currently lives in Seattle with his wife and daughter.
Dysautonomia and the Stress Test
June 30, 2026
Photo by Ty Tomlinson on Unsplash As I lie on my back on an exam table, electrocardiogram wires entangled across my wrists and ankles, I scan the room of my new rheumatologist for clues to his methods. This is the second specialist I have seen in over a year after receiving a diagnosis for a second joint disease, coupling my hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) with a fresh Spondyloarthritis (SpA). On the walls hang the standard doctoral certificates, artwork of joints describing how they function, and an unorthodox shadowbox with an aged and … More Dysautonomia and the Stress Test
Narrative Pain
June 23, 2026
Photo by Mrika Selimi on Unsplash Junior year of high school, first week of soccer practice in the humid, 90-degree heat of a Kansas August day, and I’m running lines up and down steep, 70-degree hills. My quad muscles burn deep and heavy with pain like barbells strapped to my waist, and a dizzy fog makes my head swirl. As I dig my right cleat into the grass to take my next stride, my ankle snaps beneath my weight, and I tumble backwards to the bottom of the … More Narrative Pain
Parenting Through Pain
June 15, 2026
Photo by Illia Panasenko on Unsplash The Bedtime Routine 9:30 p.m., an hour and a half into the bedtime routine, and my three-year-old daughter asks me, “Are you happy, daddy?” I lie sideways on top of a three-inch thick mat next to her bed that is only long enough to support my head to my … More Parenting Through Pain
Invisible Pain: Pride Edition
June 7, 2026
Rainbow Sidewalk Chalk by Alex Jackman on Unsplash The first Pride parade I attended was in Seattle in the early 2000’s. At the time, I was a Kansas college graduate that traveled across the country to explore creative writing in the grey Cascade mountains of Washington, and to discover an identity buried within me for … More Invisible Pain: Pride Edition
A Day in the Life with Chronic Pain
May 30, 2026
Photo by Eric Prouzet on Unsplash 3:58 a.m., a Wednesday, 2004. I’m 25 years old. I awake to a painful electric current that vibrates from left shoulder blade to upper back, then neck, and lands inside my left temple. The temple starts to throb. When I brush my fingers across it, I feel the blood … More A Day in the Life with Chronic Pain
Delayed Diagnosis
May 23, 2026
Summary: Diagnosing the causes of chronic pain can be significantly delayed for patients, sometimes for years. Read about David’s experience at an imaging clinic obtaining a long-awaited diagnosis after almost thirty years of managing pain. As a nurse glides ahead of me through the clinic, I feel an intense, interior wind drag my left leg … More Delayed Diagnosis
