An honest review of “This is My Pain Talking” by Tim Price
Heidi Klima asked me if I would critique the book and in process I found myself questioning the way I was managing my own pain. I’m a better person for it.
Video Transcript:
Greetings from sunny southern Alberta, Medicine Hat, Alberta. My name’s Tim Price, and this is my testimonial for a friend and a helper. Her name is Heidi Klima. About a year ago, Heidi set out on a project to write a book. Writing what she calls “Journalling.”
Anyways, the name of the book is—I like the name of the book—it says, “Hello. It’s Your Pain Talking.” And she asked if I could critique her book. I was wondering why she would pick me for that, but it could be because I’m stage 4 cancer, and in my journey, I’ve suffered a lot of pain.
Some 30 shots of radiation, hormone medication to suppress the testosterone in my system—that causes bone density loss, it causes muscle density loss—and my way of dealing with it sounded like this: “This is my pain talking.”
That’s my Tupperware solution to pain. I would grab a handful of pills as I went out the door in the morning. Besides being on some narcotic, all-day release pain medication, for those times when the pain just seemed to nag at me, I would dig into my Tupperware.
Of course, my favorite would have been Tylenol with methocarbamol. And if I felt the pain, then I’d just reach into my pocket and take a pill. So, probably throughout the course of the day, I’d have a half-dozen of those pills—maybe Advil, maybe some other types of medication to help me not deal with pain.
As I got to about chapter 20 in Heidi’s book, I came to the realization that pain comes in many sizes and shapes and forms. From what I know of Heidi’s journey and life, emotionally, I don’t know of anybody who could have put up with more pain than she has. Professionally, she’s a masseuse, and she helps people deal with physical pain.
Her book covers the spectrum: emotional pain, physical pain.
My experience became a testimonial on how to deal with physical pain. Again, I mentioned that, around chapter 20 in this book, I started to ask myself, “Do I really need this pain medication?”
So, about two months ago, I decided—when I reached chapter 20—I made an oath to myself to get off the pain meds. Between the narcotics, the Tylenol, the methocarbamol, and sometimes alcohol, it was quite a mixture. I think now my liver must be really thanking me for the changes I’ve made.
What have I done to replace the pain? It’s something Heidi taught me. In my world of physical pain, I’ve got this prosthetic I wear to help me with the pain because of my worn-out knee. The medical system doesn’t really want to invest in someone who’s terminal, so I have to learn to put up with that prosthetic pain.
But what Heidi showed me—well, she didn’t show me, she wrote about it—was that I used to get up, hunched over, and rely on the pain meds to help me through the day.
But now, when I get up, it’s at a much slower pace. When I get out of the chair, it’s like this… and that stretch has helped me get rid of my Tupperware option for pain medication.
And thank you for that, Heidi.
I want to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude to Tim Price for his heartfelt and honest review of my book, “Hello, This Is My Pain Talking.” Tim, your courage and openness in sharing your journey, especially while facing such immense challenges, truly moved me. Your words not only shed light on the difficult realities of living with physical pain but also offered a reminder of how resilient the human spirit can be.
Your story, like your friendship, means the world to me. I hope others can find the same hope and strength through your words that I did.
With gratitude,
Heidi Klima
