Original Article:
Arthritis Through Art: Have You Ever Had a Pain Flare So Bad You Couldn’t Even Speak?
by Creaky Staff featuring art by Jennifer Walker
https://creakyjoints.org/poets-artists-corner/arthritis-art-pain-runs-down-my-face/
Date Created: October 2016
Medium: Graphite
“Jennifer Walker, of San Antonio, Texas, lives with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and fibromyalgia. She’s a computer software engineer by day, but her passion is her art — a medium through which she can uniquely convey what it’s like to physically and emotionally cope with chronic pain… I was overdoing it as usual at the time — taking care of everyone else instead of myself. I was not listening to my body and its pain signals. I did not start listening to my body until it was screaming at me and then I could hardly function. My hips locked up and would not move more than two inches in any direction. I got stuck on the couch — unable to eat, go to the bathroom, tolerate much noise, or be touched. As the pain got worse and worse, I lost the ability to talk. All I could do was cry and make these guttural sounds. It lasted several hours and left me totally exhausted… This piece is called ‘Pain Runs Down My Face’ because I could not talk or communicate. I felt like I was mute and wearing a theater mask with the expression plastered to my face. After the flare I could not even talk about what happened. I had no words… I remember crying and being unable to communicate. I remember the fear that enveloped me and consumed me and made me unable to talk about it for days after.”
This piece and artist dive into the terrifying experience of going through a bad arthritis flare. I feel as if I learned a lot about how devastating the effects of arthritis can be, and—as a designer—see the need to design the world to be compatible for individuals who are already going through so much.
