Mike Ratajczyk's Treatment for CRPS
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** Please visit the Updates Tab to read about the most recent status on Mike's condition.
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"It feels like injecting your arm with gasoline and lighting it on fire."
"There are millions of sharp, hot needles digging into your skin with bone crushing pain, and a tinging sensation that goes from your hand and up into your neck."
"Its like being diagnosed with terminal cancer without the luxury of dying."
Mike's been injured since 2012, and diagnosed with CRPS since July of 2014. A CRPS pain flare up causes him to black out. He's with you for a couple seconds before the pain takes over and then he's completely gone for about 45 minutes. He can't hear you and he can't see you. As a bystander, all you can do is wait it out, and make sure he doesn't fall or bump into something when he blacks out.
The pain associated with CRPS/RSD is ranked higher on the McGill pain Scale than digit amputation and child birth.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: The most painful form of Chronic Pain that exists today. It is is a progressive disease of the Autonomic Nervous System, and more specifically, the Sympathetic Nervous System often affecting one or more of the 4 limbs. In some cases it can spread to the entire body, including one's internal organs.
The day after Christmas in 2012 Mike was working on a vehicle at his job. He was compressing a high tension spring when the spring compressor let go. The spring shot out, hit his right hand, threw him back and hit the ceiling that stands 30 feet high. He received 13 stitches in the palm of his hand. This got infected twice while it was healing and his hand started to form into a clenched fist. Today he suffers from PTSD from the accident and CRPS in his entire right arm with the symptoms spreading to his left thigh. He's taking more than 20 pills of 9 different medications just to function. His pain and sensitivy is so intense that he cannot wear a sleeve. He has very little use of his arm and his hand is clenched into a fist which we've been told that may be permanent damage . If something touches it, bumps it or even brushes it, he blacks out for close to 45 minutes while his body deals with the surge of pain. Fireworks, wind, thunder, rain, sun, steam, a harley engine, loud bass and cold weather instensify the pain he feels 24/7. Sleep is rare, he's constantly anxious and his indepence is slowly fading. He needs help doing some daily tasks and is in desperate need for further treatment for him to get back to as normal of a life as possible.
Mike has gone through numerous doctors with various treatments. He's had multiple nerve blocks, steroid injections, a 10 day epidural infusion with PT, Spinal Cord Stimulator trial, Pain Pump trial, and a 3 day ketamine infusion which have all been unsuccessful. He recently had to be put out for him to get his nails clipped because of how tight his fist is.
When we started this back in 2015. He was seeking treatment at the Neuroscience Center in Deerfield, Illinois. They didn't accept insurance and the treatment was not a one size fits all. Every patient is different, but we were hoping they would find the right combination for Mike. He is no longer seeing that doctor and has moved on to other treaments with different doctors.
As of April 2017, he is seeing two different pain doctors, and hoping to continue getting ketamine infusions if insurance approves them. Workers compensation has not been covering anything, but luckily he still has his personal insurance. We're not actively fundraising since they are covering quite a bit, but we will reopen if insurance denies the coverage for his infusions.
Please help us Put out the Flame of CRPS and put Mike into remission!


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"It feels like injecting your arm with gasoline and lighting it on fire."
"There are millions of sharp, hot needles digging into your skin with bone crushing pain, and a tinging sensation that goes from your hand and up into your neck."
"Its like being diagnosed with terminal cancer without the luxury of dying."
Mike's been injured since 2012, and diagnosed with CRPS since July of 2014. A CRPS pain flare up causes him to black out. He's with you for a couple seconds before the pain takes over and then he's completely gone for about 45 minutes. He can't hear you and he can't see you. As a bystander, all you can do is wait it out, and make sure he doesn't fall or bump into something when he blacks out.
The pain associated with CRPS/RSD is ranked higher on the McGill pain Scale than digit amputation and child birth.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: The most painful form of Chronic Pain that exists today. It is is a progressive disease of the Autonomic Nervous System, and more specifically, the Sympathetic Nervous System often affecting one or more of the 4 limbs. In some cases it can spread to the entire body, including one's internal organs.
The day after Christmas in 2012 Mike was working on a vehicle at his job. He was compressing a high tension spring when the spring compressor let go. The spring shot out, hit his right hand, threw him back and hit the ceiling that stands 30 feet high. He received 13 stitches in the palm of his hand. This got infected twice while it was healing and his hand started to form into a clenched fist. Today he suffers from PTSD from the accident and CRPS in his entire right arm with the symptoms spreading to his left thigh. He's taking more than 20 pills of 9 different medications just to function. His pain and sensitivy is so intense that he cannot wear a sleeve. He has very little use of his arm and his hand is clenched into a fist which we've been told that may be permanent damage . If something touches it, bumps it or even brushes it, he blacks out for close to 45 minutes while his body deals with the surge of pain. Fireworks, wind, thunder, rain, sun, steam, a harley engine, loud bass and cold weather instensify the pain he feels 24/7. Sleep is rare, he's constantly anxious and his indepence is slowly fading. He needs help doing some daily tasks and is in desperate need for further treatment for him to get back to as normal of a life as possible.
Mike has gone through numerous doctors with various treatments. He's had multiple nerve blocks, steroid injections, a 10 day epidural infusion with PT, Spinal Cord Stimulator trial, Pain Pump trial, and a 3 day ketamine infusion which have all been unsuccessful. He recently had to be put out for him to get his nails clipped because of how tight his fist is.
When we started this back in 2015. He was seeking treatment at the Neuroscience Center in Deerfield, Illinois. They didn't accept insurance and the treatment was not a one size fits all. Every patient is different, but we were hoping they would find the right combination for Mike. He is no longer seeing that doctor and has moved on to other treaments with different doctors.
As of April 2017, he is seeing two different pain doctors, and hoping to continue getting ketamine infusions if insurance approves them. Workers compensation has not been covering anything, but luckily he still has his personal insurance. We're not actively fundraising since they are covering quite a bit, but we will reopen if insurance denies the coverage for his infusions.
Please help us Put out the Flame of CRPS and put Mike into remission!
Organizer and beneficiary
Ashley Braze
Organizer
Antioch, IL
Michael Ratajczyk
Beneficiary