I’m in constant pain unless I jump from a plane
Victoria Hotson, 42, from Preston, went to extreme measures to combat her excruciating pain…
Stepping into a red boiler suit and harness, I was getting ready to do my first ever skydive. It was something I’d wanted to do for years, and as tiny planes whirred overhead, I could feel the adrenaline surge through my body.
‘You ready?’ the instructor asked, checking everything was tightly fastened.
‘As I’ll ever be,’ I replied, following him into the plane and making our way up to the skies.
Before I knew it, I was dangling out the plane door at
15,000ft.
‘Here we go,’ the instructor shouted, as he pushed us both out of the tiny aircraft.
Free falling through the clouds, the next five minutes were a blur.
It was exhilarating, and as we made our way to the ground all I could feel was excitement.
‘That was incredible!’ I beamed to my husband, Ian, 50, who was waiting for me at the bottom.
‘Well done!’ he exclaimed. ‘Are you in any pain?’ ‘Not a bit,’ I smiled.
For me, not being in any pain at all was nothing short of a miracle.
Since 2005, I have suffered from chronic pain almost constantly.
It began without any warning, simply waking up one morning with a niggling pain in my back.
‘It’s probably from being in the car all the time,’ I said to Ian, thinking nothing of it.
At the time, I was working long hours as an auditor, driving round the lake district every day.
But when the pain didn’t budge after a few weeks, I went to see my GP.
Only doctors couldn’t work out what was wrong and the pain continued to get progressively worse.
The only way to control it was through meds, and
The pain came out of nowhere
although they helped, I still struggled to cope.
‘I feel like my body is a prison,’ I’d cry to Ian, completely fed up.
‘It’ll get better,’ he’d reassure me.
But the pain was still excruciating, often leaving me bed-bound and taking up to 30 tablets a day.
I was the sort of person who always had a new project on the go, whether it was DIY or work related.
I loved being outdoors with the dogs or playing golf, but now I was being forced to slow down and rest.
After three years of suffering, doctors eventually diagnosed me with fibromyalgia.
While I was relieved to finally have answers, I knew there wasn’t a cure.
All I could do was learn to manage the pain.
I tried acupuncture, massage, hypnotherapy, had 40 steroid injections, Reiki and even travelled to India for treatment at a wellness spa.
Some worked better than others, but I soon discovered one method that was more effective than anything else. Extreme sports! Sailing round the Greek islands in 2012, the thrill and excitement of it all made my pain almost disappear.
‘I’ve not felt this good in months,’ I said to Ian.
‘It must be the adrenaline rush of it all,’ he told me.
And he was right. The thrill of sailing on some pretty rough seas, made the pain almost feel as though it had vanished.
Once home, I realised I needed to do more things that gave me an adrenaline rush and compiled a list of daredevil activities.
From skydiving to riding on the back of a motorbike, I did it all, feeling a sense of euphoria after each risky challenge.
And the pain didn’t just vanish while doing the activity.
Days after, I’d still be feeling pain free.
‘I’ve got you a race track day next,’ Ian told me one afternoon. ‘You’ll be driving an
Aston Martin at 150mph.’
I loved it and as I whizzed round the track my pain was long forgotten.
It was exhilarating and knowing I’d be pain free for days, I couldn’t get enough. I went sailing as often as I could and took my classic car out for a spin on the weekends. Any activity which gave me an adrenaline rush made me happy and all my other emotions went into oblivion. Besides, I can’t put my body through anymore pain so I may as well give these a go! Over the years, my list of challenges has only got longer and there’s lots more I still hope to do.
While my pain hasn’t got better and I’ve had to retire from work, it hasn’t stopped me from doing the extreme sports I’ve grown to love. Next up is a wing walk, and after that I’d love to go shark cage diving in South Africa. My fibromyalgia can still be a challenge, but I’m certainly not letting it stop me from living life to the fullest!