Living with chronic Pain in P.E.I. : challenges, care, and hope
- Judith Mendiolea Lelo de Larrea
- Jan 28, 2025
- 3 min read
Neila Auld’s feet hurt. She had been feeling pain for a while. Walking was uncomfortable and nothing she was doing would seem to relieve her.
She went to the doctor to find she struggled with Colitis. Her body was unable to process vitamin B12, and the nerves in her feet were damaged. She was instantly sent for 74 infusions of B12.
Initially, the treatment released some of her pains, but as time passed by, the hurt returned even worse.
She went back to find her B12 deficiency, caused by colitis, had triggered her body to develop peripheral neuropathy. Despite treatment, the damage to her nerves was irreversible.
Auld has been living with this condition for the last 20 years.
“I have no feeling in my feet,” Auld said. “I could walk on broken glass and I wouldn’t know it. Yet they’re sore, like they’re sore inside, and that’s what’s draining.”
For her, pain is a constant companion.
While she’s learned to manage her condition, the fear of worsening symptoms, including potential amputations due to severe foot infections, lingers in the back of her mind.
“If I could keep them from getting any worse, that’s great. But it’s very debilitating for me, and it’s very debilitating for others,” she said.
Across P.E.I., many individuals like Auld are grappling with chronic conditions. The 21.5% of the population is over 65 years old.
Yet, resources for managing pain are often stretched thin.
According to Allison St. Pierre, a Manual Osteopath and Clinical Kinesiologist at Reactive Wellness in Stratford, this gap in healthcare services extends beyond just treatment.
“Many of my clients have to go off-island to receive certain surgeries and treatments. We need more healthcare practitioners in general.”
St. Pierre pointed out the lack of resources for conditions like endometriosis, which forces patients to seek care in other provinces.
“We need to make sure all of our healthcare providers are up to date on conditions, especially women’s-based conditions like endometriosis,” she said.
However, chronic pain isn’t just a physical burden; it impacts every facet of life.
“Living with chronic pain can really affect people. When you see them walk out [of a handicapped spot], a lot of people will judge or even yell at them because they can’t see anything physically wrong,” St. Pierre explained.
The invisibility of pain, combined with its emotional toll, creates isolation for many sufferers.
For Alondra Velasco, a second-year student in the Occupational Therapist Assistant and Physiotherapist Assistant program at Holland College, her mission is clear: to restore independence to those struggling with mobility.
“Losing that, it’s losing a part of yourself. So our function is to help people be independent,” she said.
Velasco, who has worked with vulnerable individuals in long-term care facilities during the summer in Ecuador, is passionate about providing empathetic care.
“I want to be that person that you trust to put your family in, to treat them with respect and dignity,” she said.
The journey of managing chronic pain is multifaceted.
It involves not only physical care but also emotional resilience and trust in the healthcare system.
“When you’re with a physiotherapist, you have to be with the patient day-to-day, and see the improvement, “Velasco said. “It’s very beautiful to see how your patient is improving with your help,”
While gaps in the system remain, the work of dedicated professionals like Allison and the next generation of caregivers like Alondra offers hope for a future where patients can live with dignity and support, knowing they are in good hands.
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