Help Katelyn Fight CRPS
Donation protected
Meet Katelyn
From a young age, Katelyn loved sports and being outside. She was only 8 when she ran her first 5k race. She learned to ski at 10, played basketball through junior high, and competed in track and cross country in high school. As a teenager, she volunteered, helping coach women far older than herself to run. But it wasn’t just sports, she also treasured spending time in the mountains camping or floating a river.
In 2014, Katelyn left our small town in Arkansas to attend college at Trinity International University outside of Chicago. Majoring in sports and wellness management, she was also a scholarship member of TIU’s cross country team. While competing, she suffered a fracture in her lower left leg not once, but twice. Katelyn proudly earned her degree from TIU and was set to achieve the goals and dreams of an upbeat youth with a new diploma. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Katelyn was diagnosed with CRPS in 2018 as a result of the fractures to her leg and has been in and out of doctor’s offices since then. She’s been on crutches almost continuously for over two years.
What is CRPS
CRPS stands for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. It usually occurs after an injury to a limb and is the result of the disruption of the central nervous system. Essentially, the brain is sending erroneous pain signals to the nerves of the effected limb. CRPS is such a painful chronic disease it is also known as the suicide disease. Body parts can feel like they are on fire while being repeatedly stabbed by a knife. The lightest touch, even from the wind, can cause agony.
To make matters worse, CRPS can spread to unaffected areas of the body. Gastroparesis, a condition that impairs the stomach from emptying, is a common symptom. CRPS is a mysterious disease that doctors don’t know exactly how to treat.
What Happened to Katelyn
After her diagnosis, things got better for a short time, then they got progressively and decidedly worse. Five months of anesthesia for weekly nerve blocks and epidural shots in her spine only worsened the condition. She developed constant tremors in her leg that persist even today. The pain became so extreme that every couple of hours lead to screaming and crying in agony.
Over time, and with treatment, the leg pain became more tolerable but the disease moved first into her back and then eventually to her stomach. Earlier this year, after going weeks without eating and barely drinking because of severe stomach pain, she spent 17 days in the hospital. Doctors, after trying many different drug regiments, placed a feeding tube through her nose to her lower stomach and sent her home. After returning from the hospital in February, she began passing out multiple times per day. Only recently did we discover the cause was one of the many drugs she was taking multiple times a day. Katelyn still can’t eat or drink without intense pain, and while bouts of nausea and vomiting often dislodge the feeding tube, it has enabled her to receive fluids and calories.
Why We’re Asking for Donations
The drugs and procedures doctors prescribed have done little to improve Katelyn’s condition and, in some cases, actually worsened it. Katelyn began treatment last year at a clinic that, while having great success with CRPS cases, uses some nontraditional therapies. The clinic doesn’t take insurance and though we filed claims through our insurer, they were denied. Our family spent over $50,000 dollars last year in medical expenses. We have half that amount set aside for Katelyn this year but the clinic is expensive and the money will be gone soon.
We dream of a day when Katelyn can walk without crutches and take a bite of a hamburger. With your help, we believe she can overcome this terrible disease and lead the life of a normal 24-year-old. Will you help her achieve this dream?
https://ifightcrps.com/
From a young age, Katelyn loved sports and being outside. She was only 8 when she ran her first 5k race. She learned to ski at 10, played basketball through junior high, and competed in track and cross country in high school. As a teenager, she volunteered, helping coach women far older than herself to run. But it wasn’t just sports, she also treasured spending time in the mountains camping or floating a river.
In 2014, Katelyn left our small town in Arkansas to attend college at Trinity International University outside of Chicago. Majoring in sports and wellness management, she was also a scholarship member of TIU’s cross country team. While competing, she suffered a fracture in her lower left leg not once, but twice. Katelyn proudly earned her degree from TIU and was set to achieve the goals and dreams of an upbeat youth with a new diploma. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Katelyn was diagnosed with CRPS in 2018 as a result of the fractures to her leg and has been in and out of doctor’s offices since then. She’s been on crutches almost continuously for over two years.What is CRPSCRPS stands for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. It usually occurs after an injury to a limb and is the result of the disruption of the central nervous system. Essentially, the brain is sending erroneous pain signals to the nerves of the effected limb. CRPS is such a painful chronic disease it is also known as the suicide disease. Body parts can feel like they are on fire while being repeatedly stabbed by a knife. The lightest touch, even from the wind, can cause agony.
To make matters worse, CRPS can spread to unaffected areas of the body. Gastroparesis, a condition that impairs the stomach from emptying, is a common symptom. CRPS is a mysterious disease that doctors don’t know exactly how to treat.
What Happened to Katelyn
After her diagnosis, things got better for a short time, then they got progressively and decidedly worse. Five months of anesthesia for weekly nerve blocks and epidural shots in her spine only worsened the condition. She developed constant tremors in her leg that persist even today. The pain became so extreme that every couple of hours lead to screaming and crying in agony.
Over time, and with treatment, the leg pain became more tolerable but the disease moved first into her back and then eventually to her stomach. Earlier this year, after going weeks without eating and barely drinking because of severe stomach pain, she spent 17 days in the hospital. Doctors, after trying many different drug regiments, placed a feeding tube through her nose to her lower stomach and sent her home. After returning from the hospital in February, she began passing out multiple times per day. Only recently did we discover the cause was one of the many drugs she was taking multiple times a day. Katelyn still can’t eat or drink without intense pain, and while bouts of nausea and vomiting often dislodge the feeding tube, it has enabled her to receive fluids and calories.
Why We’re Asking for Donations
The drugs and procedures doctors prescribed have done little to improve Katelyn’s condition and, in some cases, actually worsened it. Katelyn began treatment last year at a clinic that, while having great success with CRPS cases, uses some nontraditional therapies. The clinic doesn’t take insurance and though we filed claims through our insurer, they were denied. Our family spent over $50,000 dollars last year in medical expenses. We have half that amount set aside for Katelyn this year but the clinic is expensive and the money will be gone soon.
We dream of a day when Katelyn can walk without crutches and take a bite of a hamburger. With your help, we believe she can overcome this terrible disease and lead the life of a normal 24-year-old. Will you help her achieve this dream?
https://ifightcrps.com/
Organizer
Brian Wells
Organizer
Mena, AR