Hi, I'm Julie, one of the Directors. I've had chronic pain for 7 years after an accident left me with a life changing spinal cord injury. I am partially paralysed despite urgent operations and I also have fibromyalgia. I battled with poor mental and physical health until being referred to a pain management programme. There I learned the skills necessary to live a more meaningful and happy life alongside my pain and deprescribed from my pain medications. After the programme ended I was determined to help others in a similar situation and give them back a fulfilling life. I met Sean (another Director) who had been through a similar journey. He had a routine hernia operation which went wrong and caused lifelong issues as the gauze repair attached itself to the nerves. Sean spent 25 years on high dose medication including morphine and gabapentin before completing the pain management course and de-prescribing. He is the founder of pain cafes in Cornwall.
Idecided to set up pain cafes locally to help the many thousands of others struggling with pain every day and enlisted Sean's help as Co-Director.
In the cafes we work together, bringing our experience, skills and knowledge of pain management to local people. We cover areas such as sleep, diet, acceptance, relationships and much more. Each 2 hour session has instructor led, safe guided movement and we facilitate social time for people to talk to others in the same situation (peer support). These are held in Wellbeing Hubs or community areas.
We really need your support to fund the project. While we currently hold funding in the short-term, as we have made a commitment to the community, we need to ensure we are sustainable in the long term. Even a small donation can make a huge difference to all those struggling with chronic pain every day.