Help Colleen Fight CRPS and Save Her Leg!

Hello, I never thought we would need to submit a GoFundMe but I also never thought an injury would be so detrimental to my daughter.

My name is Ashton and my daughter, Colleen, found out that she had CRPS in 2020, but was diagnosed much earlier without her being aware. She has had a long journey beginning in 2017.

She had an initial accident in 2017 where she tore her ACL, MCL, LCL in her right knee, as well as a tibia-fibula fracture. Several doctors told her she was fine and would recover soon. Unfortunately, she had severe swelling which caused acute compartment syndrome. She was rushed to the ER multiple times in order to save her leg from amputation. She underwent surgery in 2018 to repair her torn ligaments. During surgery she had complications with anesthesia which put her into a severe emergence delirium and a coma for 2 weeks. The surgery was unsuccessful and left Colleen with increased pain, no muscle and continued knee dislocations requiring her to wear a brace full time.

In 2019 she was involved in a hit and run motor vehicle vs person accident a few days before her high school graduation. A road rage driver hit her 3 times with his car while she was getting out of her car. The driver was never found and Colleen was left with further damage to her leg. She had to undergo surgery again in September of 2020.

Pain continued and she began having severe leg tremors and temperature changes in her right leg. In 2022 she had another right knee surgery to further stabilize her knee.

In November of 2023, she had her most recent surgery to repair her right ankle to help her knee and overall leg stability. This last surgery has made her CRPS considerably worse to the point where she cannot mover her ankle at all and cannot bear weight on her right leg.

We have had several ER visits, sleepless nights and tears shed due to the pain. Colleen describes the pain as cutting open her leg for surgery, slicing her toes one by one and peeling her skin. If you touch her foot it is as cold as ice and turns blue/black in color. Her pain level never drops below a 7 and that is on a good day. I know Colleen puts on a smile even though she is in incredible pain. Colleen

CRPS or Complex regional Pain Syndrome is one of the most painful diseases out there, ranking in the top ten on the McGill Pain Index.

Colleen has undergone years of PT, mirror therapy, and medications/narcotics to help ease her CRPS but nothing has helped. Some people resort to amputation to find some sort of relief but not even that is a guarantee.

Thanks to everybody’s donations, love and support, Colleen was able to receive 2 weeks of treatment in Arizona for her CRPS! She responded well during treatment and was able to feel pain levels ranging from 1 to 6 on her right leg, which usually it was a constant 9 or above. Her back pain was significantly improved as well! Unfortunately, she was unable to feel lasting pain relief after treatments. Following treatments, her pain increased as well as swelling, color changes and temperature changes. She is a responder to the treatment; however, her body takes more time therefore needing more treatments and visits!

We have found a local Physical Therapist who uses Frequency Specific Microcurrent (FSM) treatment for CRPS. This is another form of treatment that works at calming her nervous system, and improving the communication between her nerves, muscles and cells to reduce inflammation, decrease pain and improve muscle movement and function .

She requires this treatment at least twice a week and again, because CRPS is rare and no well researched, this form of treatment is not covered by insurance. The treatment will take about 6 months but we are going to continue to fight no matter how long it takes!

Financially, it is more than I can afford but I want to do anything I can to help my daughter.

From the depths of our heart, we extend our deepest gratitude for reading Colleen’s story and any support you may offer. Whether that is sharing her story, or offering any donation that may help us get this treatment and give Colleen hope for her future. Hope that she may be able to have less pain, hope that she will be able to walk, run, bike and become mobile again like she used to be 7 years ago.

Thank you for taking the time to read and for considering to donate and share. Your kindness and compassion mean more than we can express. All donations will be used for continued therapy to get Colleen to remission, pain free and walking again!