Tomorrow my dad goes for another corticosteroid shot in his lumbar spinal area for ongoing pain that's plagued him for almost two years now. I honestly don't know how he has lasted through it, since he rates the pain between 5 and 9 on any given day, and he walks bent to the left now. Chronic pain is something I'm all too familiar with from my surgery scar tissue and I know how wearing it is on the body and mind. For someone who is used to being healthy, suffering quietly while doing the doctor rounds to try and get relief is something very few are capable of doing.

I certainly hope this does some good, even if the last round wasn't helpful for long, and that some sort of permanent solution is possible. Either way, I do admire his persistence and resilience in the face of setbacks, and take some life lessons from that.