After many years of living with constant neuropathic pain, Louise O’Donnell-Jasmin decided to join forces with other patients and health professionals to found the Association québécoise de la douleur chronique (AQDC), a pain patient association in Quebec. She has been head of the Publicity and Promotion Committee and a board member since the beginning of AQDC in 2004, helping create the website, the newsletter and different promotion material, giving TV interviews and conferences in Quebec and actively participating in many chronic pain projects.

An editor and a educational writer since 1987, having published more than 30 titles, Louise had to cease her professional activities in September 2000, after a dentist intervention earlier in July contributed to the appearance and to the chronicity of neuropathic pain in all teeth, face muscles, bones and skin, along with muscle spasms in the back of the neck and shoulder muscles. With pain so severe and pain flare-ups so intense they lead to cardiac distress and frequent hospitalizations and with invalidating medication leaving her with only moments of lucidity for more than four years, Louise was finally treated at the Montreal General Hospital Pain Centre and gradually given her life back, over a period of 4 years, with minimal medication. From an invalid to an active member of society, Louise has been a spokesperson for pain patients in Quebec and has contributed to giving chronic pain a face and a voice over time. A new member of the board of the Canadian Pain Coalition, Louise is editing the new CPC Newsletter and is actively contributing ideas to make CPC a successful association in Canada.

Married for more than 30 years and a mother of four, Louise has struggled, alike most people living with pain, to regain independence, autonomy and to continue living a normal life. Family ties and love have been her reasons to go on and to persevere, against all odds. An avid cyclist and walker, Louise speaks of hope and courage in the face of chronic pain, never having let go of her dream of one day, finding a new life for herself and her family, even with pain medication as a daily reminder of a condition that has yet to be understood. Now pain-free, Louise is devoting her time and energy to inform and educate pain patients, health professionals and the general public and is presently working on the first book for pain patients, with the collaboration of health professionals and patients, in her own publishing company. She is also working on a documentary presenting the reality of living with chronic pain.

Board member of the Canadian Pain Coalition (CPC)
since June 2008
Board member of the Association québécoise de la douleur chronique (AQDC)
since September 2004