Every single day for Riley Boerger is an exercise in perseverance.

The Lake Stevens High School sophomore suffers from a rare disease called Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome, a chronic condition causing constant stabbing pains throughout her body, dizziness and debilitating headaches.

The 15-year-old was diagnosed on her 14th birthday.

"It is hell," Boerger said. "It feels like my world kind of ended that day because my pain took over everything. It feels never-ending."

After enduring two major surgeries, more than 150 trips to the doctor and four straight years of physical therapy, Boerger decided to put her pain to paper.

She wrote 12 Spoons, a book based on her life. It was published at the end of the summer.

The title is based on a chronic pain management metaphor where a patient has a dozen "spoons" of energy to get through the day.

"Just getting up in the morning costs a spoon, but if you don't sleep well the night before you get 5 spoons when you wake up. It changes every day," Boerger said.

Perhaps even worse than the persistent physical pain was the mental anguish Boerger suffered, with doctor after doctor telling her her pain wasn't real.

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