"My spine healed incorrectly. There were long periods when I'd be perfectly all right, and then there were many other times when I wasn't, when my back would give out and throw me down to the floor amid waves of nauseating pain"

This quote by Dick York speaks with the struggles of coping with persistent pain. York's experience of his spinal column recovery improperly is a suggestion of the unpredictability of persistent discomfort. He mentions periods of feeling "completely all right" followed by unexpected and extreme episodes of pain that can be so extreme that it can cause him to collapse. This quote highlights the physical and psychological toll that chronic discomfort can handle a person, in addition to the trouble of managing it. York's words are a suggestion of the value of understanding and supporting those who live with chronic discomfort, and of the need for much better treatments and resources to assist them handle their condition.