"We cannot soothe the pain we do not know."
Pain is a distressing sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage."
"It never occurred to me to call 911 or my physician. […] As foolish as it may appear, you are, in a sense, a prisoner of the pain, which was intolerable. Youre thinking, what could I do to relieve myself of it. If it becomes intense enough, youre perfectly willing to accept cardiac arrest as a possible way of getting rid of the pain."
"Nature knows best, and she says, roar!"
"When pain cant bless, heaven quits us in despair."
"One focus for the discussion of the problem of late abortion has been based on the claim that a fetus feels pain. The debate about fetal pain originated with discussion which began in the late 1980s, as a consequence of research which indicated that a fetus is capable of a behavioral response to sensory stimulation. Advances in fetal surgery, which include placing valves into the heart and injecting red blood cells into the liver to prevent anaemia, meant that neonatal surgeons and experts in embryology were becoming more and more concerned about the potential consequences of invasive fetal surgery. This concern was given a major boost when Dr Anand, then of the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, demonstrated that new-born babies (neonates) undergoing surgery did better if they were given anaesthetics of a kind usually used only in adult surgery (until very recently, neonates were not given anaesthetic before surgery). In 1992, the New England Journal ran an editorial calling on clinicians to Do the Right Thing concluding that it is our responsibility to treat pain in neonates and infants as effectively as we do in other patients. Since this time, and extensive discussion has taken place in the pages of medical journals, about the nature of pain, with many eminent scientists concluding that they have much more to learn about this phenomenon. Greater knowledge about the causes of pain can only be beneficial to society, and it is important that clinicians do do the right thing where neonates and infants are concerned. It is however extremely unfortunate that a discussion about best clinical practice for new-born babies has led to a debate, based on the notion that a fetus can feel pain, about the problem of late abortion."
"In this last context, food refusal, weight loss, commitment to exercise, and ability to tolerate bodily pain and exhaustion have become cultural metaphors for self-determination, will, and moral fortitude."
"Sunny days wouldnt be special if it wasnt for rain; joy wouldnt feel so good if it wasnt for pain."