“There’s quite a lot of downsides to not feeling pain”
For chronic sufferers, a life without pain might sound like heaven, but it has brought enormous amounts of suffering to Steve and his family.
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Steven's brother Chris also suffered from the condition
“You don’t want to see your children in pain, but you also don’t want to see them injuring themselves and not knowing it.”
Although he doesn’t feel pain, Steve can sense uncomfortable pressure in his body, and the healing process can be very taxing: “It depletes my energy to where I’m just constantly fatigued,” he says.
He’s got a bad left knee, which he’s been dealing with since he was 16 years old, and it’s getting progressively worse: “I can’t walk for long distances like I used to.”
And then there’s the constant vigilance. “You just have to assess risks constantly, although over time that just becomes second nature. You kind of know what you should and shouldn’t do.”
Despite everything, Steve wouldn’t choose to feel pain
Steve’s brother Chris also suffered from the genetic condition and found it very difficult to live with. An outdoorsman, he enjoyed hunting and fishing – but doctors informed him that he had only a year before a back injury would leave him reliant on a wheelchair. “That, compounded with everything else, was just too much for him,” Steve explains. He took his own life ten years ago.
Thankfully, Steve’s daughters don’t suffer from the congenital condition – a source of immense relief for their dad. “You don’t want to see your children in pain, but you also don’t want to see them injuring themselves and not knowing it.”
Despite all of this, Steve says he wouldn’t choose to feel pain himself. “I’ve had so many injuries throughout my life, and I’ve got arthritis in my ts – I would just be in constant pain if I were to suddenly feel it,” he declares. “You couldn’t pay me enough to feel pain!”
