City & State: Sacramento, California

Age: 56 years young

Pain warrior role: Ambassador since 2015 and a Pain Connection support group leader

What type of health conditions do you live with: Chronic low back pain, leg circulation issues, leg ulcers, skin grafts, slight memory issues, edema.

What is your favorite tip for others with chronic pain:  For people just starting their chronic pain journey, I always say, “pain without humor is just painful.”  What I mean by this is, even with the worst pain possible, if you never laugh, what do you have? A life of pain is difficult, so laugh. Also, you have to care for yourself before you can care for someone else.

What’s a fun fact about yourself: Four other caregivers and I became chat group friends and then joined together to write a book 365 Caregiving Tips, Practical Tips from Everyday Caregivers. That one book has turned into four books with two available in Spanish.

Richard is a certified caregiving advisor who helps support caregivers, providing information and helping with challenges caregivers face. He also is a group counselor who works with those who have or those living with someone who has a chronic condition, and runs a Pain Connection support group in Sacramento, CA. In addition, he is a moderator on four different social media sites aimed at helping others in pain. Richard is very active on social media in general, providing information to the pain community and frequently helping share U.S. Pain’s efforts online.