Intractable

Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash

Intractable
Chronic pain
It is resistant
It is obstinate
It means unstoppable
Neuropathic nerve pain
Unresponsive to therapy
Impossible to fix or cure
From the Latin-unmanageable
Does not respond to intervention

So, when the Dr in charge of Emergency
told me I had ‘acute on chronic intractable pain’
I didn’t admit I didn’t know what the word meant

Later, at home, I read through the discharge referral
Later, when I looked it up in my ragged, old dictionary
Later, I realised that intractable could mean a life sentence