Most people see me and don’t know the pain that I live with each day.  I do my best to mask it, as I decided several years ago, to not broadcast to people, what I am dealing with on a daily basis.  I don’t see how it benefits anybody if I let them know whether I am having a “good” day or a “bad” day, in regards to my pain levels.   You see I have one of those “hidden” diseases.   It began over 25 years ago, and it wasn’t until about 6 1/2 years ago, that I couldn’t take it anymore.  Up until that point, if I had a bad day, I would call out of work and stay on a heating pad for a day or so.   I have hereditary degenerative  disk disease, that I didn’t do anything about until there was so much damage, that there were very few options left for me. read more