I had two major cycling accidents in the 1980s which caused a spinal fracture and severe whiplash.I quickly got over the accidents and was fine until the early 1990s when I started to have migraines. This gradually progressed to daily migraines by 1996.
My injury happened over two days – August 30-31, 2001 – when I was asked to reorganise the office's new filing system.
I'd survived the traumas of a major motor car accident, the ignominity of a prostatectomy, and the despair and exasperation of three separate cancers and their harsh therapies, but nothing had prepared me for the greatest challenge of my life, dealing with chronic pain
6 when I was 17. Unrelated to any incident, I began to experience extreme back pain. I later discovered it was a degenerative disease with no cure, but at the time I thought it could just be 'fixed'.
I woke up one morning in 1988 with a sore back.As the pain continued to increase, I consulted my general practitioner who referred me to an orthopedic surgeon. After some tests, I was told that there were no problems and that the pain should go away. It didn't.
Harry Perkins, son of Olympic champion swimmer and Painaustralia Director Kieren Perkins OAM, was diagnosed with chronic migraine at the tender age of eleven.
My first taste of pain and injury was when I was only three years old.We had a car accident and I had my lower lumbar joints damaged as well as whiplash injuries to my neck. No one knew this at the time, though, and by the time I was nine I was having X-rays on my back to find out why I was in so much pain.
I was nine years old when I damaged the ligaments in my left leg in a hurdling accident.After a year of treatment my leg hadn't healed – in fact the pain had worsened and I was diagnosed with chronic regional pain syndrome. 
In 1962 at the age of 21, Renée was involved in a serious car accident that kept her in an English hospital - in a 40-bed geriatric ward - for nearly two years.
Before my accident, about six years ago, I worked at a prestige car dealership in Brisbane. This work was physically demanding as well as being quite social. We all had to get on well as it could be quite a pressured environment and humour often kept us going.
I was an advisory teacher when I suffered a spinal injury in 2007 that landed me in a Brisbane hospital emergency department.Thanks to a neurosurgeon, I regained the use of my left leg and the crushing pain eased. 
As a chronic migraine sufferer I've lived with pain since I was a small child. With the help of sub-occipital electrodes and an implanted pulse generator (IPG implant) I can now manage my daily pain and rely less on heavy medications.
Breast cancer is a diagnosis heard all too often these days at 13,000 diagnoses a year in Australia.
I injured my neck in 1993 while attending a Scout Jamboree in Canada as a carer for a child with cerebral palsy.My pain symptoms didn't really show up until 1997 when I started getting lots of neck and arm pain. 
That Friday in June 1990 began like any other Friday – two adults, three teenagers, family pets, all heading out. I was totally unaware that this was the day "Super Mum" would die and life as I knew it would be over.
"Fortunately", the pain from my neck injury was so severe that it was taken seriously from the start.
My problems started in the early 1980s with the introduction of computers in most public service departments.In 1986,
I first incurred a serious back injury at work in 1985. It was not able to be evidence-based for five years (at the time of surgery).
It happened on 28 August 2008 at 8.28am. Everything after that is a bit of a blur, but the moment the accident happened will be stuck in my memory forever.
It was during a long jump attempt at my school's athletics try-outs when I was nine that I first hurt myself.As usual, I ran and jumped but as I hit the sand I felt pain in what I thought was my ankle.
Janet: Crushed by a tree
September 23, 2006 was a beautiful, still, sunny autumn day.I was in the UK to visit my elderly mother and other family members and had taken the train to London to visit a friend.
After a traditional afternoon tea at her home, we went for a walk in a cemetery park - one my friend had walked through with her dog almost every day for the past fifteen years. About half-way around, my friend and I heard a massive crack and a tree fell, the 1.5 tons crushing me underneath. What are the odds on that - a tree falling on someone in a cemetery on a sunny day in London?
My main injuries were two broken vertebrae in my back, broken ribs and later a punctured lung. A few days later I had titanium rods and screws inserted in my back.
This was the beginning of my three years of chronic pain.
It took three months before I was able to manage a flight back to Australia and in that time I faced a constant battle trying to manage the pain, using morphine patches and regular paracetamol.
On arriving back in Melbourne and finding a wonderful general practitioner, I was immediately weaned off the morphine and referred to a pain rehabilitation hospital, a counsellor and orthopaedic and neurology specialists for advice and support.
It was here that I was taught skills to manage my pain, although I was also told that it might never go away. This was a severe blow to me.
I had been used to being fit and well and when I caught the occasional cold I knew if I drank plenty of fluids, ate well and took vitamins it was only a matter of time before it disappeared. Chronic pain was a new ball-game but I was determined I would not let it get the better of me. After all, I was extremely lucky to be alive and I was sure I could conquer the pain in time.
After rehab, I fell back into my old ways - taking on too much, thinking I could return to work without too much trouble. How wrong I was.
I could not sit or stand for more than twenty minutes so I was unable to manage commuting. I look fit and well, so no one would offer me a seat on the train if I was standing. When I got home, I could only grab some food and crawl into bed. Each day, the pain grew - until I had to acknowledge I was not Superwoman.
I returned to my GP and the pain specialist and undertook more rehabilitation - physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, chiropractic etc.
It was then that I realised I would have to practice what I had been taught. I also came to the conclusion that I needed to re-invent myself if I was to continue what I enjoyed most and to live a full life.
On a daily basis, I give myself more time to do things or to get places. I leave the dishes to soak in the sink because the action of scrubbing them is still painful. I pace the housework. I try to travel off-peak. I use a trolley to carry shopping as I can no longer manage heavy bags. I ask for help when I need it. I have learnt what works for me, what is important and what can wait.
My life has been totally changed. I take regular medication, varying it based on need. I have ongoing support from my GP who co-ordinates my treatment plan.
During the past three years, I have looked for information on chronic pain and found that most of the information I gleaned, was from American websites.
I wanted the knowledge and support of an organisation that knew what it was like to have ongoing pain – and then I stumbled across Chronic Pain Australia. Based in NSW, it was only started through goodwill and a grant from a local Rotary club. This organisation has now extended its great work by offering a telephone service to people struggling to cope with their pain. As a member of this organisation, I would like to see a similar one develop in Victoria.
I have found there are far more issues around chronic pain than just dealing with it. It is an invisible issue – no one knows that a large percentage of the population are dealing with it on a daily basis.
Many people are accused of being bludgers if they accept disability payments. People with chronic pain are not the most reliable because sometimes it takes longer to get going. We miss out on social events, unless we have a plan to leave early without being noticed (party poopers).
Many people feel isolated and have low self-esteem through losing jobs, work-mates, friends and family. Society does not recognise chronic pain. They think it is just something the elderly have from time to time or it is an excuse used by weak people who are lazy or avoiding work.
For some, they develop a victim mentality because they find it just too hard to try anything other than just coping with pain. Some become suicidal.
Like many people who have had major challenges in their lives, I have developed my own holistic plan - to get a balance in my life. There are positives to be found in negatives and I have been lucky to gain a closer relationship with family and friends.
Having a warped sense of humour has enabled me to see even more of the funny side of life. I am writing my book, doing some training, developing as a keynote/motivational speaker and working towards delivering programs for people who need direction and support to move on with their lives.