Today Is Better

A few weeks ago after our lovely visit to Ange’s Cottage we stopped off at Dereen Wood. Lucy took this photo of me and I saw a post on The Migraine Association of Ireland website for a competition for those with chronic pain.

So I entered the pic just for the hell of it and it was one of the 12 winners! All the winners will be featured in the Today is Better Calendar and we were invited along to the launch today at the Aviva Stadium. Lucy couldn’t come with me due to college so Jono came along – armed with back patches (he has one box left), painkillers and a tens machine.

Luke Fitzgerald is the ambassador for the TodayisBetter campaign and we got to hear his story today. Luke is a former rugby player and over the duration of his career, Fitzgerald appeared 154 times for Leinster, winning three Heineken Cups, a Challenge Cup and three Pro12 titles. He also won 34 caps for Ireland. Sadly Luke suffered a neck injury and was advised to retire, he now lives with chronic pain.

It was inspirational listening to the various speakers and also to Luke, it was nice to hear someone that Jono could relate to suffering from similar kinds of pain. We were invited to talk about our photos and I had to dedicate my speech to Jono.

So that was our big day out in Dublin, it was a really enjoyable day and do you know what? Today is better!

Here is a bit more about the campaign.

From Todayisbetter.ie

#todayisbetter is a campaign to encourage Chronic Pain suffers to take control and have their voice heard. Be part of a community who want to take more control on Chronic Pain together. This campaign focuses on the lives and experiences of people living with chronic pain and aspects that could make their lives easier.

 #todayisbetter is proudly supported by Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, The Irish Pharmacy Union, Arthritis Ireland, Irish Cancer Society, Chronic Pain Ireland, Fibro Ireland and The Migraine Association of Ireland.