Opinion

CRPS From An Outside Perspective- Interview With a Husband

By Samantha Anderson, Special Events Coordinator After several requests for my husband and I to give a bit of our story and let everyone know how things work with us, I decided to interview him to find out what he thinks about CRPS/RSD as a person that lives with it daily without physically experiencing it. 10 years ago, I started dating my now husband. We were each 14 years old. This was less than a year after my CRPS/RSD diagnosis. As a matter of fact, I was still on crutches when I started dating the boy with the blue mohawk. At that point, I didn’t know the extent that CRPS/RSD would actually impact my life. I know the doctors told…
continue reading

A Thorn In the Flesh-A Chronic Pain Journey

By Guest Blogger Gabe King This blog was originally featured on Gabe King's blog site Treasures on the Sand. This blog was submitted to us by Mr. King with full permission to share his chronic pain journey.   For many of us with chronic pain, we can only remember suffering. It can be very hard to think of the times that were pain-free, living our lives like normal human beings. However, this is not the path Our Heavenly Father has in store for us, for He has a greater purpose at hand. Though this is the case, it can still be a difficult journey, walking through life with what the apostle Paul referred to as a "thorn in the flesh."…
continue reading

Managing RSD/CRPS As A Chronic Illness from a CRPS Warrior

By Guest Blogger Emily S. Nunez Emily has been living with CRPS/RSD and learning how to best manage it. Here, she includes her tips and tricks to control your CRPS/RSD as a chronic illness. She finds the following tips helpful for her own pain.   The reality of living with RSD/CRPS is that it is a lifelong chronic illness, which requires management and attention to avoid exacerbating symptoms.  I consider myself very fortunate to have most of my RSD symptoms under control at the moment.  But I do get flare ups of pain and swelling from time to time, and I’m always aware of how my affected foot is feeling in order to prevent symptoms from getting out of control. …
continue reading

The Impact of Mindfulness on RSD/CRPS

By Guest Blogger Emily Salser Nunez How important is mindfulness and CRPS/RSD? According to Emily, it is crucial. Read Emily's story and then see how being mindful helped her.   Eight months after fracturing my small toe in a simple misstep, I was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).  I had never heard of this disorder when my podiatrist concluded this was what was causing my excruciating pain and inability to walk.  I knew something was seriously wrong, as over time my foot felt like it was burning and became bluish-black in color.  So, at first, I was relieved that I finally had an explanation for what was happening to me.  But then the podiatrist looked at me with deep…
continue reading

How RSD Potentially Stole My Dreams- Cope With RSD/CRPS

By Guest Blogger Tatiana Being diagnosed with RSD/CRPS is challenging at any age. Being young and going through the challenges of school can make it hard to cope for children and teenagers. Tatiana writes about her experience being diagnosed with RSD/CRPS, her stolen dreams, and how she has ultimately learned how to cope. When I was a young girl, only five years old, I had crazy dreams. Every single time someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d smile, and tell them that I was going to be a dancer. A ballet dancer, to be specific, though I often dreamed of ballroom dancing. Getting to wear a ballgown, heels, and having a handsome gentleman’s hands…
continue reading

When Someone Offers You a Cure for CRPS

All people that have been diagnosed with CRPS/RSD want in this lifetime is a cure. That’s why so many of us focus on awareness, awareness events, fundraising, and even on keeping up with the latest research. There is nothing more we want than to be the “old” us- the ones that can hop, skip, and play with our dogs, children, grandchildren, nieces/nephews, and so on, without being in excruciating pain and facing all of the consequences that come with it (if we can even get our bodies to move in those ways).  Please note everything in this article is my own opinion. Another common thing is that all of us have been told that someone has a cure. Most of…
continue reading

Music & Me- My Way of Coping with CRPS Pain

By Samantha Barrett, Special Events Coordinator We all have our ways of coping with CRPS pain. I've been using music to get me through everything in my life, especially CRPS. It's time for me to share with you. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been singing along to music, making up my own songs, and dancing (even in a wheelchair) to anything and everything that comes on the radio. For a vast majority of my life, I was a dancer, a dance teacher, and a dance team coach. Everyone in my family played an instrument or could sing (not me though, I can’t get my voice to cooperate). I’ve always been on more of the A&R/music business side.…
continue reading

The Importance of People- Friends with CRPS

By Samantha Barrett, Special Events Coordinator I started my CRPS journey when I was a teenager. Of course, then, it was known as RSD, but a lot has changed over the years. I remember being diagnosed with “Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy,” which instantly made me think that the doctor thought I was faking to get people’s sympathy. But, I soon found out it was so much more. Doctors didn’t give me much hope. They actually told me I would never walk again. But, I’ve always been a determined little monster. I did everything in my power to battle the beast that is CRPS/RSD. Physical therapy, acupuncture, medications, desensitization, and anything that was in experimental phases that I possibly could. But, there…
continue reading

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…
continue reading

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…
continue reading