Why play?

I suffer from a condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. It's a heritable connective tissue disease that most prominently effect the skin and musculoskeletal system, or simply put - it tends to cause stretchy fragile skin and floppy joints. Apart from the obvious problems, i.e. the myriad issues that comes sensitive skin and recurrent joint dislocations - chronic pain and fatigue is a nagging companion.

I'm having one of those weeks, the bad ones I mean. I can't sleep, I can't work, I can't walk very well without falling over and all forms of movement as well as static positions hurt immensely. I can't sit still, lie still, stand still or pace. My cervical spine protests first by making disconcerting crunchy noises and then by pinching a nerve and sending shooting pains down my arms. What a fantastic way to waste away my time.

A few months ago, there was nothing much I could do apart from fidgeting and slowly going insane. Now at least, with the assistance of some trusty splints, there's one thing I can do a little bit. You guessed it - warcraft. And a little bit of writing, ah, blogging. And on days where I can't play, there's still Azeroth. I have a vivid imagination. It comes from a lifetime of chronic migraine headaches. My favourite one - fishing. I think about fishing in the lake just outside of Dolanaar with a gently drizzle soaking everything. The irony of imaging fishing in a computer game does not elude me. There's so many things I could imagine, but real life memories hurt. I always hurt. Always have done. Thinking about strolling or actually fishing creates waves of apprehension of the pain that will inevitably result. However, fishing as a character in a make-believe lake, no pain involved there. Needless to say, my fishing is skill is excellent.