Warrior, not worrier

“It’s a monster that lives inside you 24*7, causes pain in 1000 parts of your body all at once, even more than that in cancer. Legs feel like being bitten by a thousand snakes, head being beaten up by rods continuously, body feeling very near to death with the cruel monstrous pain.”

This is a story of a girl from Purulia district in West Bengal who has been in pain for the last 18 years, battling an invisible condition called Fibromyalgia. She still has not found a cure, but has not given up hope- yet.

She was the kind of student our parents dream for us to be like. She was the topper in her class. But it was sometime in May,2004 when she was in her fourth standard, she was diagnosed with jaundice which was accompanied by severe body pain and weakness.  Jaundice recovered after some time but that pain was not. She went from one doctor to another and all of them kept telling her that it was in her head and she should concentrate on her academics. Years passed, little did she know that the storm was never going to pass, it was going to stay there with her for all the years ahead like a loyal partner.

That was the time in 2009 when she was not able to pick herself up from bed every morning, she began feeling like she was being stubbled in different parts of her body with a knife. When the pain became unbearable sans any relevant diagnosis, she started researching on the internet and somehow she stumbled upon the word FIBROMYALGIA. She kind of became her own doctor, researching on the internet on what treatment options exist for the disease and what other medicines are being prescribed by the doctors around the globe. But she had no actual diagnosis.

It was in March 2022 the girl became completely bedridden for almost three months as the pain increased. It seemed that her whole body was paralyzed. Everyone in her family was devastated, thinking that she would never be able to stand up. Her parents took her to Chennai for a complete body check- up, finally a doctor gave her an understanding smile and said, “it is Fibromyalgia.” The girl knew it!

Fibromyalgia is a painful musculoskeletal disease characterized by widespread muscle pain, oversensitivity to common pain, extreme fatigue and sleep, mood and memory problems.

But the girl did not give up, she had the patience to move on, live one more day and hope some more. With regular exercise, a healthy diet, proper rest and mental strength she gradually recovered.

In September 2023, she joined as a fellow and started working with the women in villages in Maharashtra. This journey was very tough for her but actually she did it.

p.s. Isani also completed a night long trek in Maharashtra recently.