“Pain isn’t always something you can see, and that’s hard for people to understand. I often feel like I’m looking in from the outside.”
I’m Donna, 55 years old, and I live in Cardiff. I manage multiple conditions, including fibromyalgia, lupus, neuropathic pain, and the ongoing effects of a stroke I had when I was 45. I also live with PTSD from decades of abuse.
“People’s misunderstanding of pain has been one of the most torturous parts of this journey. Living with fibromyalgia, lupus, and neuropathic pain has left me hypersensitive — even the slightest touch hurts. I’ve done CBT, talk therapy — you name it — to try and rebuild some part of my life after more than 30 years of trauma.”
“I haven’t been on a train in over 30 years — not since I started using a mobility scooter. Buses and planes are often inaccessible, and traveling with fibromyalgia can be excruciating. The lack of empathy in public spaces is staggering. Everyone is rushing, nobody makes room, and it’s clear that society doesn’t leave much leeway for disabled people.”
Art saved me. I’ve been drawing since I was three years old, initially using whatever materials I could find, even using bookies’ pencils and beer mats that my father brought home from the pub. “I use my artwork to breathe,” I say. “I can’t live without art.”
Pain has been a massive hold-up for me. Living with chronic pain, a brain haemorrhage, and, not forgetting the stroke I had, I truly thought I’d never be able to even practice art again. I was so wrong.
Let the jigsaw of living with pain carry on. If I continue to produce work like I am now, then this, I say, is a tribute to my friendship with Marysa.
“I want my artwork to speak for those of us with unseen damage. I’m not ‘just a stroke patient.’ I still have abilities.
I’m here. I’m alive. And I’m creating.”