Tag Archives: spinal cord

08. Neuropathic Pain From Feet to Back: Warm Coarse Sand and Stones

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600px-Sand_from_Gobi_Desert

During the day,
My feet step through warm coarse sand
with constant warm vibrations from the feet up.
But they are icy to touch.
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My legs and thighs are wrapped up
by thorny fabric constantly pricking at my nerves.
But they are numb to touch.
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I sit on a tray of warm stones
that persistently thrust against my buttocks.
No escape.
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My back leans on a backrest studded with stones
that pierce deep into my spinal cord.
Invisible blood, realistic pain.
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At night,
I lie down on a magician’s bed
full of long pointed nails.
Illusory sleep.
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© 2015 K-KLokePhD

800px-Nagelbrett_ganz (1)

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Sand from Gobi Desert. Photo by Siim Sepp. CC AS-A 3.0 Unported License, via – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sand_from_Gobi_Desert.jpg

Beach Stones. Photo by David Bleasdale from England. CCA 2.0 Generic License, via – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beach_Stones_2.jpg A nail bed. Photo by Logitech. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. via – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nagelbrett_ganz.jpg.

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© 2015 K-KLokePhD

07. Neuropathic Pain Inside my Legs: Fire Crackers

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firecrackers

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Inside my legs,
from toes to buttocks,
long strings of fire crackers
burst and burn.

Constant, soundless crackling
Hot, invisible sparks

Is there construction
in this chaos: damaged nerves
straining to reconnect,
myelin healing, spinal cord
regenerating?

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800px-Fire_Crackers_Display_(DSC01945)

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Firecrackers in action in Chinese New Year celebration.
Photo by Dr. LEE Sao Bing, who is the Medical Director and Principal Surgeon of Shinagawa LASIK & Eye Centre, Singapore. Photo taken from his personal blog at:
https://drleesb.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/firecrackers-new-year/

Firecrackers Displays. Photo by Nitin K Parekh. CC AS-A 3.0 Unported License.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fire_Crackers_Display_(DSC01945).JPG

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© 2015 KKLokePhD

01. The Tumour

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Blue-ringed Octopus at night. Taken at Blairgowrie Marina, Victoria, AU. Photo by Saspotato.

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More than three or even four decades ago,
a tiny, docile blue-ringed octopus
mysteriously
made its lair in my spinal cord.

It had been thriving,
slowly and steadily,
undetected,
until eleven years ago.

It extends its eight long, flexible arms
in all directions,
to siphon off nerve tissues and cells
as it pleases.

It liquidises its prey
to make minute cysts
that slowly combine
to become larger cysts.

It wrecks widespread nerve damage:
cuts off nerve communication with a burst of ink
and paralyses with a shock of venom.

Destruction from neck down to lumbar.
Progressively,
new types of pain,
new pain patterns,
new pain locations,
greater disability.

© 2015 K-KLokePhD







Blue-Ringed Octopus. Photo by Saspotato, in public domain, via -
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hapalochlaena_maculosa.jpg