Can We All Be Superman? The Exploration of Pain  Tara Raju's
picture  Superman would be jealous of Ashlyn Blocker. Why?
Blocker, a five year old girl, cannot feel pain. She is the
victim of a rare genetic disorder, a condition known as
congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis, affecting her
nerve endings which give her the super human ability to not
sense extreme temperatures, a scratched cornea, broken legs, and
abrasions, among other injuries (1). What gives certain
individuals the ability to feel intense, teeth clenching pain
and others, like Blocker, to feel absolutely nothing at all?
Foremost, there are three major components in the body that work
together in order to process pain including the peripheral
nerves, the spinal cord and the brain (3). The peripheral nerves
are the nerves that are able to extend from the spinal cord to
the skin and other regions of the body (3). These nerves have
receptors at the ends that can respond to various sensations
including pressure, temperatures, touch, etc