You're welcome. I know how hard it is and paying it forward helps me, too. If I could share one of the most valuable learned lessons from the Mayo Pain Rehabilitation Center (PRC) - it is about coping with loss. Adjusting to feelings of loss and grief are difficult and I allowed chronic pain and symptoms to really dominate my life for a few years, focusing on what was wrong with me not what was right. During my 3-weeks at rehab, I learned many tools and coping mechanisms, mainly through cognitive behavioral therapy lectures. PRC teaches:

"It is important to learn about your condition, follow an appropriate course of treatment and perhaps talk with others who have the same condition. However, constantly reading or talking about your condition can keep you focused on what is wrong and what you have lost, rather than your abilities and positive features of your life".

Acceptance is a huge factor and one of the most important steps you can take, but everyone gets there at a different pace. Hard to just happen overnight, ya know? My awakening was when PRC's Dr. Sletten drew a tomb stone on the white board in class that read "RIP" (to our old selves). I don't believe there was a dry eye in the room. It evoked tears and a sense of mourning, but I needed to hear it and accept it so I could move on. It's been 3 years since I graduated the program and not a day goes by that I don't work on maintaining my stability and occasionally testing my plateaus. I am doing better as a result.

Without a doubt, I believe you will have improvement in your future - one day, one step, at a time. Have a wonderful day!