Angela, thank you for writing about your illness. It is hard to feel like a person when illness takes away your vitality. I am hard-of-hearing and even though my co-workers, family, and friends know this, I have to remind them at least 15 times a day to repeat something, because I did not hear it. I hope you can resolve your pain, so that you can resume activities that give you purpose. Your story gives me a window on a condition I knew nothing about.