- CRPS Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
- Interviews
EmJ's interview
How did all start?
I fell down my back staircase when I was 14 and got a high snklensprain my my left ankle.
Do you already have a diagnosis? How long did it take you to get it?
Yes. I was able to get it rather quickly because my condition progressed very fast.
For what medical specialties have you been treated? What has been the most useful specialty for your?
Pain managment, physical therapy, occupational therapy, aquatherapy, and neurology. Pain management and PT have been the most useful.
What has been the most useful thing for you so far?
My intrathecal pump with prialt (ziconotide).
What have been your biggest difficulties?
I had to go to Cleveland to get medical help at 16. I have lived there for up to a little more then a year before with just my mom. They have saved my leg but it has been hard being away.
How has your social and family environment reacted? Have your social or family relationships changed?
My family and I have gotten very close however because I was just a freshman in highschool and had to leave school when I was diagnosed i missed a lot of the social aspects that most people get to experience.
What things have you stopped doing?
I have had to drop out of college because of flares.
What do you think about the future?
I hope that the future will have a cure.
So far, which years have been the best years in your life? What have you done during them?
Some of the best years of my life where the years I was living at the Ronald McDonald house in Cleveland. Since I didnt get to go to school this is where I got to socialize with other kids my own age and "experiece" high school.
What would you like to do if you didn’t have your condition?
I honestly don't know what I would want to be doing without my conditions because it happened at such a crucial time developmentally for me. I don't know who I would be without it.
If you had to describe your life in a sentence, what would it be?
My life is a work in progress.
Finally, what advice would you give to a person in a similar situation?
Never stop looking for answers.
