Sherry is working hard towards gaining employment, studying for an accounting and bookkeeping course.

But she was finding it hard to put the hours in she needed to study with the pain she was feeling.

“I have degenerative disk disease in the top seven disks of my spine, plus a damaged rotator cuff,” she says from Kelowna.

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Susan suffered a work-related injury at an assembly plant in 1989. As a result, she has a variety of conditions including De Quervain Syndrome, Epicondylitis, and Fibromyalgia. This affects her from the neck down — notably in the hands where her fingers will cramp while holding objects, causing her to drop them and lose feeling from the neck down.

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Jeremy often had to cut his work days short because of chronic pain.

“I was in that situation because of a chronic severe neck and back pain. I did not have an ergonomic computer station, and it was causing me pain so much I had to just stop doing what I was doing,” he shares. “[My] condition limits me from walking, lifting, sitting too long at one time.”

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With over 35 years in the construction industry, John has put in a lot of years of hard work. But after spending much of that time on noisy job sites, John’s hearing isn’t what it used to be.

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New hearing aids have made a world of difference in Jason’s life.

“I am now able to continue working because of the new hearing aids the Assistive Technology Services program has helped me with,” he says.

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Douglas is a community administrator for a number of mobile home communities in Surrey, handling everything from answering calls to compiling data for new residents to collecting rent.

It’s a lot of work and Douglas faced a number of barriers that made his work tougher.

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Nicole volunteers her time serving as a health coach and leader for workshops that help people with chronic pain — a subject close to her heart.

“I have an autoimmune condition that affects my spine and peripheral joints including neck, arms, and wrists. So I can’t sit for long and use a keyboard to type. That makes it tough to take notes and use a computer for assignments,” she explains.

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Occupational Therapist Katrina Tilley was named the 2020 recipient of CAOT-BC’s Outstanding Occupational Therapist of the Year.

The CAOT-BC interviewed Katrina about her career in occupational therapy. Read the article: cOnnecT with Katrina Tilley.

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Tianna, a single mother living in Kelowna, is continuing her education as she looks towards a future career.

However, she faces multiple barriers in both her program and on her path to employment.

“I have neck, back, and spine injuries,” she shares. “I deal with chronic pain and limitations doing certain tasks.”

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Adam is a web developer based in Victoria. His work — which involves long hours on the computer — is taxing on his body due to a spinal cord condition.

 “I have a spinal cord condition that causes chronic back and lower body pain. It makes it difficult to sit or stand for prolonged periods,” he says. “It also makes it difficult to concentrate and problem solve.”

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