I have never written a review – ever. But after watching ‘Pain Warriors’ I am compelled to express why it’s so important to see this documentary that has taken six years to put together.
Just to explain quickly, Pain Warriors is a documentary that follows the lives of five people of which four are chronic pain patients – Hunter, Yanekah, Karen and Sherri whom this documentary is dedicated to. The fifth is, Dr Ibsen – one of the last few doctors willing to prescribe an opioid, which is a group of pain-relieving drugs.
The mission of this is documentary is to
“tackle[s] the other side of the OPIOID CRISIS ~ that of under treated pain patients and the slow death of compassion that surrounds them.”
Before I continue, thank you Jason Herterich for telling me about this documentary 🙂
Why This is Not a ‘Pain Warrior’ Review
I can’t review a documentary that speaks the truth about people’s lives – what they suffer, what their families go through, how their medical professionals are treated – no I cannot. It’s their truth and I feel that can’t be up for a review.
What I will share is how I connect with each person.
But before that, I do want to say as to how brilliantly I feel this documentary was shot by its makers Tina Petrova and Eugene Weis, – whether its the drone shots, or the moments of silence as the tears roll down or knowing where to pause one story and pick-up the other – you’re involved throughout, hoping that things work out.
My Connection with Each Warrior
As someone who is always in pain no matter what I do, I instantly connected with each person, whether it was Karen’s husband, Bob Paddock who narrates her story through her journal explaining how her own research lead her to knowing what was wrong with her, or Sherri’s patient advocate who spoke for her.
We all, all chronic pain warriors know what it’s like to research in the hope we find answers and we all know what it’s like to advocate for ourselves in the hope we’re to be believed and treated like an individual with individual issues and be heard fairly too.
I could really feel Yanekah’s struggle of dealing with pain going through a pregnancy and bringing up a child – something I question a lot myself too. Will this be something I could do? I still don’t have answers to that, but I understood where she was coming from.
I live in India and have never experienced trouble getting pain medication, so seeing Dr. Ibsen being troubled by the medical board for prescribing opioids in wanting to help those in pain and then having to suffer from sanctions in Montana, USA was very saddening. His story and his willingness to fight for his patients and do what he needs to do reminds me of medical professionals I’ve met over the years who go out of their way to help me through various therapies. It’s worth seeing where his determination takes him.
Then there is Hunter – I connected with him the most.
He’s 11 and went through chemotherapy for four years. After becoming cancer free, the side-effects of his chemo meant that his pain never left him.
Seeing Hunter reminded me of myself. Him making his own health decisions, choosing his activities, him knowing whether what his doctors were saying would work or not and him in distress while trying to sleep. His cries, his anger, his frustration – all remind me of how I felt growing up.
And it reminded me of how many of us pain warriors faced so many problems as children that were often dismissed – which is very common in those with endometriosis, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, fibromyalgia and I’m sure many other medical conditions.
Frankly I feel despite everything I have shared so far, I can’t truly describe how brilliant this documentary is in spreading the word on the plight of those who suffer so much.
We need to understand that pain isn’t so simple and there isn’t just one type of pain. The complexity of pain is huge and it’s not in your head.
How to Watch ‘PainWarriors’?
You can pay and watch Pain Warriors through the following ways:
My Favourite Quote from ‘Pain Warriors’
Before I go… I’d like to share one of my favourite (long) quotes from Pain Warriors and just leave you with what it’s telling us…
“The duty of a physician is to believe a patient, that’s the starting point for any medical person. To not believe someone that is telling you that something is wrong with them is unethical. One has to be believe them from the beginning.
We don’t go into a situation as a doctor saying, ‘there is nothing wrong with you’ and ‘you’re lying to us’ and ‘prove it’, it’s not a court case that they have to prove us their illness, it’s upto us to believe them.”
– Dr Jacobs, Pain Specialist
I hope you all watch this documentary, gain insight into what many go through and support its mission.
If you’ve already seen this documentary or have anything you wish to share then please do – the comments section is all yours.
If you’re a social media person, then you can follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest.
Thank you for reading.
Relevant Reading:
- Can Endometriosis Kill You?
- Are Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome & Fibromyalgia Connected?
- How To Work From Home if You Have a Chronic Illness
- Is My Pain Real or Imagined? How to Get Rid of Self-Doubt When Having a Chronic Illness
Our film was made to give you the VOICE & visibility you deserve.The time for silence is no more #painwarriors tells your story, our stories .110 million plus Americans, 7 Million Canadians . This is NO SMALL DISEASE. May 25 worldwide release on ITunes & Amazon @GravitasVOD pic.twitter.com/4ZJJbfXx22
— Pain Warriors (@PainWarriorsdoc) May 24, 2020
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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. I am a patient and have created this platform to share my experiences. This is all purely informative and in no way am I providing medical advice. Please consult a medical professional.
This sounds like such a powerful and emotive film, and I will definitely be trying to take the time to watch. Thank you for talking about your connection with each of the four people in the film, so much more interesting and personal than a film review.
This is such a wonderful snapshot of Pain Warriors, Shruti. I’m glad that it resonated with you. I also felt particularly touched by Hunter’s story. I didn’t experience chronic pain as a child, but the rawness in which he expressed his pain through his words and art really struck me. It’s heartbreaking to hear these stories but also very necessary. Thank you for sharing 🙏
I am still waiting to watch this documentary, Shruti, but I’m so glad I read this before watching. You have done a wonderful job connecting your readers to each person in the documentary and you do it in a beautiful way. Unique and emotional, as each pain patient’s journey is.
Such an important film for those of us with chronic pain. I hope it will spread to around the world, through people like you, Shruti. I think it has the power to bring about important changes.
Your article gave me a lot of inspiration, I hope you can explain your point of view in more detail, because I have some doubts, thank you.
Thank you, but could you clarify what your doubts are? or what you would like to know more?