Judi Riley’s Art of Storytelling with RSD- You Can Do It!

Interview Conducted by Samantha Barrett Judi Riley is one of our fabulous Facebook community members. When we got word of her books with the incredible images that accompanied them, we knew we had to interview her. Judi, who has had CRPS since May of 2009, is an author, illustrator, graphic designer, artist, and mom who is conquering life with RSD or CRPS. After an introductions, Judi and I exchanged emails for this interview. Say "Aloha" to Judi, everyone! Samantha Barrett: You write and illustrate children's books, which is amazing! What inspired you to do that? Judi Riley: I've always been a storyteller and for as long as I can remember, I have doodled pictures to go with my stories. My…
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A Teen In Pain Making a Difference- Keegan’s CRPS Story

By Guest Blogger Keegan. Introduction by Samantha Barrett It's CRPS Awareness Month. RSDSA has several events happening all over the country this month. We will also be sharing some stories of hope and stories to raise awareness for CRPS/RSD. We were recently introduced to Keegan, a teenager who was recently diagnosed with CRPS. She's not just any teenager; she instantly wanted to raise awareness for CRPS/RSD. Read a little bit about her and about her event! She wrote this blog to kick off our awareness month! Hi all! Happy National CRPS and RSD awareness month! My name is Keegan I'm 15 years old, here's a bit of my story. I left my hometown of Poughkeepsie New York in August to…
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Color the World Orange 2016 – CRPS Awareness

It all starts with an idea. That’s how our friends over at Color the World Orange became successful. They had an idea and acted upon it. Now, we are approaching the 3rd Annual Color the World Orange Day on November 7, 2016! Color the World Orange is a day of worldwide awareness for CRPS. Taking place on the first Monday in November, Color the World Orange encourages members of the CRPS/RSD community to take action. Whether people are getting their friends and family to wear orange to school or work, or if they are getting proclamations for their city/state, every part of Color the World Orange helps make a difference. This year, Color the World Orange is even listed on…
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Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover- What CRPS Taught Me

By Guest Blogger Shannon Leidig Greetings everyone!  Happy Autumn! I so cannot believe we are almost to the end of October, which means the cold and snow of winter is just around the corner. I for one so am not NOT ready for that.  I truly hope everyone is doing well.  I have been meaning to write another blog for quite a while; however, this thing called LIFE just happened to get in the way – as this was not the blog I had planned to write.  That being said – there has been a situation that has happened that has totally rocked my world and that [is why] I feel I need to write this one titled: “Don’t Judge…
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The Myth of a Cure for CRPS

WHAT DOES REMISSION LOOK LIKE? By Dr. Katinka van der Merwe Dr. Katinka van der Merwe is a chiropractor who practices in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She treats the Central Nervous System, (specifically the Autonomic Nervous System) with the “Three Punch System”, recently revised to the “Four Punch System.” Her work is detailed on this site in an earlier blog. She has treated CRPS patients from all over the world in her clinic, and is the author of “Putting Out the Fire: New Hope for RSD/CRPS Patients,” expected to be released on Amazon in November. Her clinic number is 479-966-9766. Through the years of working with CRPS patients, I have often encountered what I refer to as “the myth of remission.” What…
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Calmare Scrambler Therapy- When Traditional CRPS Treatments Don’t Work

By Michael J. Cooney, D.C. Clinical Director | Calmare Therapy NJ USA. Originally Titled: Calmare Scrambler Therapy- When Traditional CRPS Medications & Treatments Don't Work My 30-year career has revolved around treating pain. Since I was a kid, I was always trying to “fix” everybody. In high school, I played on the tennis team and was the self-designated team doctor. Decades later, Dr. Kelly and I grew frustrated that we could not lessen the pain of some of our treatment and medication-resistant patients at our clinic located just outside New York City. So we went in search of a non-invasive pain treatment to help the patients dealing with severe neuropathic pain and we discovered Calmare. We introduced this technology in…
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Longest Day Golf Recap: How It’s Helping RSDSA

By Samantha Barrett RSDSA's very first Longest Day of Golf took place this week. On Monday, September 26, RSDSA was lucky enough to take part in a golf marathon and Innis Arden Golf Club. We had Zach Baron, from Arccos, golfing on our behalf with the support of Jim Broatch. Also at the marathon were fifteen other golfers representing Malta House and the Susan Flynn Oncology Nursing Foundation. Golfers took to the golf course trying to complete as many holes of golf as possible to raise money for the charities they were representing. Prior to the event, which we deemed our very first Longest Day of Golf event, we collected donations. Some people submitted pledges on a per-hole basis. For…
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RSDSA’s Longest Day of Golf- Meet Zach

Interview Conducted by Samantha Barrett Monday, September 26 is RSDSA's very first Longest Day of Golf. We wanted to find someone that would represent us in a great way. That's when Zach Baron came along. As this is being posted, Zach is trying to complete as many holes of golf as possible for RSDSA. People have been making pledges per hole and one-time donations to make this event a success. The more holes of golf Zach completes, the more fundraising is done for RSDSA. We interviewed Zach before he took to the green. Samantha Barrett: Hi Zach! Thank you for participating on behalf of RSDSA for the Longest Day of Golf. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?…
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Comparing Pain- Why We Shouldn’t Do That

By Samantha Barrett There are some things that we all do subconsciously. We judge books (and people) by their covers, we tell little white lies to spare people’s feelings, and we compare our pain to the pain of people around us. None of these actions are particularly good for us, especially when it comes to comparing pain. But why is something that comes so naturally to so many of us harmful? It is a touchy subject, so let’s dive right in. I was diagnosed ten years ago with CRPS/RSD. At the time, I was incredibly young and getting bullied for having a condition that no one could see. I needed to educate myself so I could educate others. When I…
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A Measured Approach to Pain- Help People with Chronic Pain

By Guest Blogger Elisa Friedlander Written for the Huffington Post initially titled: A Measure Approach to Pain: Tools to Help Patients and Doctors "There’s one question I’ve been asked more than any other in my adult life. On a recent visit to the emergency room, I heard it once again. My pain was so intense I could hardly tolerate the standard intake procedures: getting my blood pressure taken and explaining why I was there was beyond me. When I told the admitting nurse about my symptoms, she followed up with those overly familiar words. “What’s your pain level on a scale of 1-10?” I couldn’t do it. It might have been the feeling of scalding hot knives piercing my body…
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