Community Corner
Event Will Put Spotlight on Chronic Pain Suffering
Discussion and photos relating to debilitating discomfort at Lehigh Valley Hospital on Saturday.
About 76 million Americans live with chronic pain. According to the newsletter Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, this costs the U.S. economy more than $60 billion annually in lost productivity.
On Saturday, the U.S. Pain Foundation will host a free event for chronic pain sufferers and the general public. The INvisible Project educational and awareness event will take place noon until 2 p.m. at the Kasych Family Pavilion at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township.
The INvisible Project was founded in 2006 and raises awareness of chronic pain through photographs of survivors. Through these images the project conveys the determination and strength of those affected with this invisible disease. Day-to-day experiences in a photojournalistic style highlight their struggles, triumphs and resilient spirit. Various chronic pain disorders such as arthritis, diabetic pain, fibromyalgia, lupus, multiple sclerosis and more will be featured.
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The event will bring pain survivors together for discussions on pain management, navigating the healthcare system and offer support so that sufferers know that they are not alone in their battle.
Paul Gileno, president of the U.S. Pain Foundation founded the organization in 2003 after he was unable to find the resources he was looking for to help him deal with an injury and the resulting chronic pain.
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U.S. Pain Ambassador and Upper Saucon Zoning board member Julian Phillips of Coopersburg will also be sharing his own personal story. Phillips’ story recounts how his chronic pain has lasted almost 30 years yet hasn’t kept him from living a fulfilling life.
The U.S. Pain Foundation calls chronic pain an all-encompassing disease that knows no boundaries, affecting poor and rich, young and old, male and female; with no race, class or age spared from its debilitating hold. To them it is an invisible disease that leaves those affected feeling unheard, misunderstood and alone.
Over the past eight years the group had grown to more than 26,000 members nationally. The group hosts advocacy and awareness programs throughout the country. The purpose of the INvisible Project is to put a face to the millions of people who live in pain every day.
Gileno will begin the talk at 12:25pm and a free lunch will be served to those who attend.
For directions to the event or for more information about the INvisible Project and the U.S. Pain Foundation please visit their website.
