“Got Pain?” by Sage Kang, brings awareness to rare diseases. Sage starts the article telling the reader to imagine waking up in pain and going to lots of doctors, not knowing what’s wrong with them. Sage talks about how his brother, Phoenix, who had sharp pain in his foot. Doctors all claimed to do something different and Phoenix was soon diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, a rare disease which brings a torturous level of pain when one does a simple movement. Sage encourages the reader to understand the seriousness of diseases and disorders, specifically ‘rare’ ones.
My grandpa was diagnosed with a disorder that caused the left side of his body to lose nerves and ache. He couldn’t do anything about it since he couldn’t feel most of his leg or arm. I remember walking into the hospital with my parents to check up on him. Doctors recommended surgery while others told us physical therapy would help. My mother decided to operate and the anxiousness ran through the family. Soon, my grandpa was doing okay again and I never forgot the experience of understanding what disorders and diseases can do. Sage mentions how you should never brush off somebody if they say they’re in pain. After all, “they are only ‘rare’ until the happen to you or your loved one.”