My wife managed to roll up the power windows of the car on three of my fingers last Sunday; I was pulling the door closed. Yes, I used invectives that I tend not to use around The Daughter. Later, The Daughter asked me if this was the worst pain that I had ever experienced. The answer was clearly no, and in fact, I was glad that it was the middle three fingers, because I suspect that catching any one finger would have hurt worse and possibly would have suffered real damage.
I’ve definitely experienced much greater discomfort. I’ve withstood root canal. I’ve broken a rib. I’ve gotten rabies shots, which are pretty nasty because they’re big needles and they have to stay in for 10 seconds.
But probably the worst pain involved stepping on a nail, not the initial activity, which certainly hurt enough, but rather the removal of pieces of my sneaker from my foot by the doctor. That was in May 2000; just got a tetanus booster this spring.
So:
1) What was the worst pain you’ve endured? I know for my wife it was oral surgery, which made childbirth seem like a walk in the park.
2) What activity that you do regularly causes you the most pain? Clearly for me, this is donating blood. I have done it 136 times – that’s 17 gallons – and when the nurse says, “You’ll feel a little pinch,” I know that’s a lie. It passes, but it hurts. P.S., I never look. Ever.
this last January I had spinal surgery. 5 discs in my neck had to be replaced, and a metal plate had to be put in place, I was in pain before the surgery, but what was worse was I lost control of my hands and legs. Back to about 75% of my old self now.Real pain was a test I did then was a EMG, they put electrodes in your arms and hands, and then hit you with a small stungun like device.
Appendicitis, I think, which I had 2-3 episodes of before a emergency appendectomy. That was definitely the sharpest pain I’ve ever felt, really incapacitating.
Most uncomfortable pain would be a procedure I’d rather not go into that involves a part of your body you really don’t want procedures done to!
I think the worst pain I have had was when I was in need of an emergency root canal. The nerve in one of my teeth was “dying” (so the dentist said). Though my jaw hurt really bad during the root canal.
The funny thing about pain and other bad experiences is that the memory has a tendency to forget or gloss over what was otherwise a terrible experience. I’ve had a number of operations and root canals, but I think leg cramps are the worst actual pain that I can remember.
The activity that I do (or did a lot more than I do now) is to be in the spotlight — like as the Principal at graduation program, or sitting at a head table with my husband, as the pastor’s wife. The worst pains for me were more emotional than physical. I was once chosen to speak in front of 3,000 people. I almost blacked out while waiting to get up and do it!