Jul 14, 2006 5:39 pm US/Pacific
Chronic Pain Sufferer Completes 2,400 Mile Walk
SANTA MONICA (CBS) ―
A man who suffers from chronic pain completed a 2,400- mile walk from Chicago to Santa Monica Friday, ending a 10-month mission to teach Americans about pain issues, treatment and support.
Dennis Kinch ended his walk Friday morning at the Third Street Promenade, highlighting a morning-long National Pain Awareness Fair.
Kinch, 51, has Paget's disease, which is a degenerative bone disease, and ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis that affects the spine and body joints. Walking helps ease his pain, but complications from his illnesses could one day inhibit his ability to walk, according to the National Pain Foundation.
Kinch said he wanted to send a message to individuals suffering from chronic pain.
"... There's an illusion of pain -- it can be controlled," he told KCAL9 after completing his walk. "The type of pain that they're feeling right now is not the pain they're going to have to live with the rest of their life, and I'm hoping this proves it."
For most of his journey, which began Sept. 19, he traveled on Route 66, dragging a wheelbarrow full of pamphlets and postcards that he delivered to pain clinics, hoping to educate people on the pain treatments available.
According to the National Pain Foundation, for which Kinch is a volunteer spokesman, 43 percent of American households have one or more members afflicted with chronic pain, a total of about 75 million people.
During one 24-hour period, Kinch walked 62 miles.
"Dennis is an inspiration to all who live with chronic pain," Mary Aardrup, the foundation's executive director said. "The number one problem that chronic pain sufferers face is validation. Dennis' walk is meant to make people aware of this very real and very serious health problem."
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
