In rural U.S., learning to live with pain and sickness is a way of life for some

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By Kate Belz June 23, 2013 11 min read

Physician assistant Norma Sparks, left, fills out a chart before examining Constance Bradford at the Beersheba Springs Medical Clinic. Bradford was experiencing ear pain.

TO LEARN MORETo find out more about the Beersheba Springs Medical Clinic, visit www.beershebaclinic.org.

Read moreCountry doc, 89, will fix what ails you, $15 at a time

There’s the diabetic woman who has a kit to test her blood sugar – but can’t afford the strips.

The 23-year-old mother with severe knee pain she’s put up with for several years without knowing what’s causing the ache.

The man with crippling headaches who carried on with his day-to-day work, never suspecting that a tumor was swelling in his brain.