James' Story (Pain BC)

James Boseley grew up in rough and tumble rural Alberta. Pain or having an IV plugged into his arm was no reason to stop working. Dealing with pain on a daily chronic basis, James’ mental health rapidly deteriorated to where he was considering suicide.

Because of his severe pain, James left Alberta to haul disposal bins in BC for half of what he was making in AB. Here James was injured again, breaking and tearing multiple hard and soft tissues throughout his body. With James’ high pain tolerance the medical system downplayed his injury. Not only did he not receive appropriate medical treatment, but he was shamed and discouraged from voicing his pain. James had to fight tooth & nail for his basic benefits at Worksafe. Despite acknowledging the severity of James’ injuries, Worksafe only treated a fraction of the injuries and denied the rest. Being off work for years, James didn’t have the money to hire a lawyer, and ended up living in squalor, creating even more challenges for his healing journey. Adding to his long list of injuries, James was psychologically devastated when he was told he should just be thankful that he has what he has.

Karen, James and Trevor discuss the additional emotional injury that occurs when our physical injuries aren’t validated and treated. They discuss the additional injury that service providers add by putting the burden of wellness back onto the client when the injury doesn’t heal at first treatment.

James ties up with his excitement at the Pain & Trades program he is developing at https://painbc.ca/ . He can be contacted at James.Boseley@painbc.ca

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