Jayde Guest is a young mother of two and an Aboriginal leader from Esperance. Chronic pain has affected her for almost a year. She is battling some ferocious chronic pain. Living 700 kilometers southeast of Perth, Guest, at the time in her early 20s, had a significant challenge to overcome. After losing a five-year battle to bone cancer, surgery required removal of five ribs and the insertion of Gore-Tex mesh into her chest wall. As for now, though, she thinks the mesh might have played a role in what she’s going through now.
Describing her pain as “feeling like her chest wall is caving in,” Guest’s experience has been marked by severe and often unbearable discomfort, particularly at night. As a cancer survivor, she’s learned to overcome the odds. This fight with her chronic pain has been far more lonely than any she’s fought in the past.
Ongoing Health Struggles
Since developing chronic pain, Guest has seen five specialists and has been an active participant in her treatment. Life hasn’t been easy for her but so far, none of them have supplied the answers she sorted desperately require. One foreign body, a 20-year-old mesh in the milieu of Sydney, is suspected to be shrinking. This might be tugging on her chest wall and producing her discomfort. This shocking disclosure complicates her already doomed situation even further.
Compounding her challenges, Guest has been denied twice by the Western Australia Health Department’s centralised referral service. Through each rejection, she’s become more disillusioned and alone, angry and frustrated. She is indeed desperate to find a fix. To achieve this, she’s immersed herself in social media support networks and contacted professionals in London, America, Melbourne and Sydney.
It’s clear from listening to her that Guest’s drive to take control of her health is palpable. “So I decided to take it into my own hands,” she stated, showcasing her proactive approach in the face of adversity.
The Impact on Daily Life
Chronic pain has taken a huge toll on Guest’s life and limited her capacity to work, socialize, and more. Almost every night is spent lying on our couch in severe pain, and more times than not I’m in tears. “By nighttime, most of the time, I’m on the couch crying,” she shared. The emotional burden of her condition weighs heavily on her every day. Currently, she says, she is at the end of her rope.
Her family, who continues to be a pillar of strength and support for the Johnson family during this trying time. Even with all their urging, Guest still feels stuck in her body. “I wish, a lot, a whole lot… to have my life back,” she said, conveying the yearning for the normalcy that seems out of reach.
Sharing Her Journey
To find community and camaraderie with others going through what she has, Guest has recently started writing about her experiences online. “By me sharing it, I’ve had people open up to me and hopefully I’ve helped them to see that they’re not alone,” she noted. She generously opens up about her experience, highlighting her strength in the process. This act embodies her wish to create an encouraging environment for those battling chronic pain.
Guest reads, and teaches, in the conviction that awareness and understanding are essential for anyone who has to face the same battles. She emphasizes the importance of helping others in the community: “We need to help because if we do nothing, it’s going to cost our community even more in the future.”
