Keith Meldrum is no stranger to living with chronic pain, which he developed after being involved in a car accident nearly 34 years ago. Although his injuries eventually healed following years of surgeries, his pain persisted without a clear cause. It was only in 2005, nearly 20 years following the accident, that he was diagnosed with neuropathic pain while receiving treatment from an interventional pain clinic.
Over the years, Keith has been a champion for people living with pain. From 2012-2018, he was directly involved in Pain BC’s Board of Directors, serving as Vice Chair and Chair of Governance and Nominating Committee. During that time, he played a pivotal role in advocating for more support services for people with pain, and the development of a provincial pain strategy.
Since 2018, Keith has led numerous presentations, webinars, and workshops both in Canada and internationally to increase understanding of persistent pain, while using his lived experience as an example for clinicians, researchers, and other people living with pain. To date, he has contributed to two publications, one which has been published, “Living with Neuropathic Pain and Spinal Cord Stimulation Therapy”, and another which is pending publication, “There is now light and hope: Patient experiences with neuromodulation in the management of chronic pain.” He also recently started a Facebook page, A Path Forward, to further raise awareness of persistent pain and to share his experience and insights with others.
In 2018, Keith became a founding member of the International Association for the Study of Pain’s (IASP) Global Patient Alliance, which was created to engage patient advocates and include their voices in pain research and its translation into new interventions to treat pain. The Global Patient Alliance was renamed as the Global Alliance of Pain Patient Advocates, and in September 2019, Keith was elected as one of 20 Presidential Task Force Members.
Through his countless hours and efforts, Keith continues to be a model of patient advocacy, which is essential to understanding how we can improve our health care systems for people living with pain. We’d like to extend our deep gratitude to him for his continued commitment to raising the profile of chronic pain – not only in British Columbia, but across Canada and the world as well. Thank you, Keith!