Amanda Duffy

Phone : Unknown
Email : admin@ppip.org.uk 		Committee
 

About Amanda Duffy

I injured my back in an accident in 2000 and after several years of treatment and several surgeries, I was finally discharged from the care of my neuro-surgeon in late 2003. Unfortunately, I was still left with terrible pain, which left me completely incapacitated. I spent at least 70% of my day lying down, as walking and sitting were such agony, and so I was unable to work and felt very isolated. At only 26 this was a major blow and my life felt empty in comparison to the busy, active one I had before my accident.

However, that all changed after my month with Input in February 2004! The pacing activities and stretch exercises that became a part of my daily life at Input, together with the reduction in medication (and the subsequent reduction in my reliance on the meds) meant that when I left Input, I had the groundwork upon which I could build an active life again. After 6 months of slowly increasing my tolerances and activity levels, I was ready to return work. In October 2004, I finally returned to full time employment! To say that I haven’t looked back since that day is an understatement!!

Over the last four years I have continued to learn how to manage my pain and I’ve had two promotions at work. I was able to negotiate flexible working hours with my firm and work from home two days a week, which is a great help. I have a gym membership and go for swims as regularly as possible, but the key to my continued success has been keeping flexible and having a little exercise each day (including the stretches that are a godsend every morning!) and pacing all my activities, as much as possible.

I’m aware that I may always have to live with chronic pain - and some days it is still very disabling - but with the methods and positive thinking that I received from Input, my management of my pain, means that I now have a very full life and I feel I can cope with it – even with occasional setbacks (no matter how serious) when they occur. I feel I owe so much to Input, as do my family and friends, who I’ve slowly relied upon less and less, and with whom I can now have fun with and not care from, which is a welcome relief for all of us!

I can’t thank Input enough for what they taught me, but the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that it is up to me to get up every day and enjoy the good days and manage the bad days. It takes effort, planning and care - but the results are so amazing. The huge rewards I’ve felt for having been through the Input program have led to my interest in working with PPIP. I’ve wanted to give something back for all that I feel Input have given me.

More importantly to me, I want to share the message that Input WORKS – on so many levels. The ethos of the pain management system can give you your life back, if you’re prepared to work at it and follow their advice. I hope that by refreshing people’s minds as to what they would have been shown during their time at the Unit, it will help people to carry on with the good work! I also feel that by supporting each other, we will all manage our pain that much better – to be able to share experiences and ask (and have answered) our questions from time to time, can only be a benefit to all of us who are unlucky enough to experience chronic pain.

That is why it is so important that we have the support of the Input Graduates, so we can finalise the PPIP website and really begin to support each other.

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