“Power Over Pain” Walk at Nova Southeastern University

Help us caption and translate this video on Amara.org: https://www.amara.org/en/v/B7Ms/

Student Accident Survivor Organizes “Power Over Pain” Walk as Part of NSU’s CommunityFest on Feb. 11

Event to raise awareness and research funding for invisible illnesses and those living in chronic pain

When 28-year-old Nova Southeastern University (NSU) student Renee Glick exits her car after parking in a handicapped spot, she is often met with cries of “you should be ashamed!”

Young and fashion-savvy, Glick may look like the picture of health. However, looks can be deceiving. Glick, and more than 116 million other Americans, live each day in potentially debilitating pain.

That’s why the doctoral student and her graduate student organization NSPIRE in NSU’s Center for Psychological Studies mobilized students across the campus to organize the first-ever “Power Over Pain Walk” in conjunction with the university’s annual free “CommunityFest” carnival.

Glick has suffered from spinal nerve damage and the invisible illness of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) since 2006 as a consequence of sustaining multiple accident related injuries and corrective surgeries, which were due to a careless driver. After being rushed to the hospital, Glick survived, but her life was never the same, as CRPS pain can surpass digit amputation. Now Glick is on a mission to shed light on the invisible world of those suffering from chronic pain in silence.

“Pain is a topic avoided by most people; as if recognizing the existence of pain makes it contagious,” Glick said. “I’m a pain warrior and encourage other people in the pain community to speak up.”

Paul Gileno, Founder of U.S. Pain Foundation, said the goal of “Power Over Pain Walk & CommunityFest,” sponsored by NSU, the U.S. Pain Foundation, and the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association, is to raise awareness about individuals living in chronic pain, provide funding for pain research and education, and start a much-needed dialogue between pain warriors and the community.