My name is Lelena.

I am a #ChronicPain patient.

I am required to pee in a cup monthly to show #compliance to my #LowDose #opioid regimen.

I am painted as despicable, helpless, & #unclean by the powers that be.

I am a modern-day #Leper.

#EndStigma #PainLeper

Newsflash, America:

I'm not JUST a #ChronicPain patient.

I am not helpless.

I am not #unclean.

I am not #despicable.

I don't just use #pills to overcome my #SeverePain.

I refuse all #stigma, misconceptions, assumptions, and #labels.

I am an #Overcomer.

I will be criticized for calling myself a #ChronicPain patient.

People will say: she wallows in illness. She enjoys it! She IDENTIFIES with her pain.

Wrong. It is part of my reality. I must face it & battle it daily.

And I do. Despite all the negativity I face from others.

To all the naysayers passing judgment about what people with #InvisibleIllness or #IntractablePain do or do not deserve in the way of treatments or medicine:

Back the hell off. You have no right to judge me or my friends.

One day it could be you facing harsh #discrimination.

If you are in a position of power, you would do well to remember something:

If #service is beneath you, #leadership is beyond you.

We, the chronically ill, are watching you. And we will not forget.

How will history remember you?

#CivilRights #HumanRights #PatientRights