Sister Bridget Marie Fritsch

Hi, My name is Theresa Bylicki. I am raising funds for Sister Bridget Marie Fritsch. She is a Poor Clare of Perpetual Adoration nun in Canton, OH. She has Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and Ehler's Danlos Syndrome (EDS). She currently is going through a more natural route of treatment that insurance does not cover. Please consider helping her through this journey so she can get in remission and back home to her convent.

All money received will go towards her March and April treatments (which averages $3,200 a week), housing and food (it is an outpatient facility), any other unforeseen expenses, and if there is enough money left over an ARP Wave machine to help keep her in remission when back at the convent ($15,000) and other bills that have accumulated.

Being that she is a Sister and does not have a bank account her mother will be the beneficiary who will receive the money and in turn, give it to the convent to pay Sister Bridget Marie's bills.

JMJ+FC+HS

Hello all! My name is Sister Bridget Marie Fritsch. I am 35 years old and I am a Poor Clare of Perpetual Adoration nun. If you are familiar with Mother Angelica from EWTN, you are familiar with our order as it is the same one but my convent is in Canton, OH. We dedicate our lives for others by our sacrifices, prayer, and constant adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament which means we do this in the middle of the night as well in shifts. We do this within a cloister or convent but we do go out for medical appointments and the like. I became a nun in 2019 after being a high school math teacher for some years both in Florida and then an all-subjects teacher in Ohio where I homeschooled my 3 youngest siblings for their high school years.

I currently have what is known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome or CRPS or the Suicide Disease and Ehler's Danlos Syndrome or EDS. CRPS is one of the most painful diseases on this planet. To try to put in simply, your nervous system is stuck in fight or flight mode which has the outcome of your nerves constantly saying you are in the most excruciating stabbing, burning, electrical, pressure, bone crushing pain all the time with no physical reason. It usually starts in one area or limb and can spread or stay contained. Since CRPS presents itself in many other ways and brings with it many other "ride along diseases" I will just say that mine developed to include that above pain 24/7 over my entire body, my arms and sometimes my feet turn a blotchy red and will be ice cold to the touch but feel like I'm burning. I also have allodynia which is where something that shouldn't give someone pain does. For me that is sound, light, cold, weather changes, vibration, but especially touch to the point where I couldn't be touched in my arms, neck, head, back, or shoulders by other people, my clothes, etc. EDS has many types but mine is the hypermobility kind which I've had since I was little but just now were able to put a diagnosis to. It causes several of my limbs to over extend and thus causes subluxations and sometimes outright dislocations. CRPS usually will make this much worse and it has with my knees, kneecaps, elbows, right shoulder/collarbone/ribs, and back/spine/vertebrae subluxating daily and many times dislocating.

My CPRS story started with my right (dominant) elbow becoming instantly sore, swollen, and throbbing in the summer of 2017and it was diagnosed with tendonitis. I did all the needed rest, therapy, cortisone shots, ice, and everything else that was prescribed but nothing eliminated it. In September 2018 I jerked my arm to catch some groceries that were falling and the pain instantly turned to electricity, stabbing, pressure from my elbow down to my wrist. We did some more therapy and shots and it only got worse spreading to both sides of my hand. In spring 2019 it was diagnoses as radial tunnel syndrome caused from the tendonitis which I was told was rare. It became manageable but never went away. In November 2019 it further spread to go back up my arm to the other side of my forearm and elbow and by spring 2020 it was diagnosed as also carpal tunnel syndrome and cubital tunnel syndrome. Since nothing was working, we found a surgeon that would do all three surgeries at once and we did that in August 2020. After the nerve block wore off that evening, we knew something was wrong as it was now all the way up my shoulder but so much more intense. The morning after the surgery it spread to my neck, face, and head due to an accident and something falling on my surgery arm. The next 9 months were one doctor, therapy, medicine, test after another with no answers but more pain and it spreading to both feet and up to my hip on my right side. I first heard that it might be CRPS in March 2021 at an

acupuncturist and I got it confirmed in August of that year. By then it was also in my back. Since CRPS is not "curable”, I was finally sent to a pain management doctor where we tried more medicines, therapies, and stellate-ganglion nerve blocks all of which were done incorrectly and made my pain worse and started a migraine that would last 11 months. By June 2022 the only available option left was a spinal cord stimulator which we were told to think about. This would have required at least 3 surgeries as I would need up to 8 wires out into my spine and 2 different boxes. My community and I prayed and discerned about this a lot and we turned to google for help in deciding this as we were skeptical about my doctor and it spreading further since it spread and turned "angry" after my arm surgeries. After running across a YouTube video by a chiropractor, Dr. Katinka van der Merwe at the Spero Clinic in Fayetteville, Arkansas, about a patient of hers with horrible effects from a spinal cord stimulator we knew God had given us our answer and we didn't go through with it. Instead, we prayed for what we were to do with me as I continued to be in more and more pain and could do less and less physically. About a month later we decided that after researching the Spero Clinic that we were going to send me there. Dr. Katinka developed a systematic treatment for CRPS and other nervous system disorders that helps about 83% of its patients to get to what she calls “remission" since CRPS has no cure. It uses all noninvasive modalities. For brevity, if you would like more information, please visit their website at thesperoclinic.com. God gave us the money needed for 12 weeks of the treatment and so we called and got booked an appointment for January 2023. So, we had 7 very long months to wait and they only got harder as in September it spread to the last places it hadn't been: my stomach and front torso. By October I was mostly bedridden as any movement would cause my spine to subluxate and walking and any position was unbearable and sleep was something I was lucky to get an hour of. We called Spero and were able to get into the Clinic in November 2022--only because someone had cancelled literally 10 minutes before I called. What a miracle! God is so good!

I've currently been at the Spero Clinic doing treatment since November 9, 2022. Spero has a 12-14 week estimated average but they also recognize that every BODY is different and will react to treatment differently. Mine is taking what I like to say is the scenic route as this is now week 20 for me as I type this. However, I have made HUGE improvements and steps and each one is truly a miracle. I came into Spero usually between a 8-9.5 out of 10 pain for the first few weeks but saw improvements including but not limited to being able to move my neck in any direction, gaining other movements I had lost and range of motion especially with my arms, ditching the 11-month migraine, sound and light slowly not flaring me as much, my coloring improving, and being able to drop my pain down to 5's and 6's. By week 12 and 13 we were able to get my pain down to 3's and 4's but not hold them for long before returning to the 5's and 6's. But with this I have been able to do many more things that were impossible before like sitting more than 5 minutes without flaring, moving and using my right arm, writing some, typing (as you can see :-D), 2-3 steps on a stair case, walking about a block, wearing clothes more normally like shoes and socks, and so much more. The biggest win was by far getting to the point where I could handle getting my bones put back into place with chiropractic adjustments. The past 3 weeks I have been able to get a 0 for about 1/6 of my entire body and keeping the rest usually at a 3 or 4 with two problem areas around 5. I have started to not subluxate or dislocate so much and am also holding the adjustments longer so my EDS is starting to get under control. One of the biggest CRPS miracles is that I have been able to attend Mass with a full organ and singing and be able to stay the entire Mass for a couple of weeks now too. There is more to do but I have made so much progress and have seen so many people regain their lives while being at Spero. I know I can finish this tug-a-war with CRPS but my battle is just lasting longer than others.

Since most of our health care system benefits the pharmaceutical companies and this clinic doesn't use their machines or medicines or techniques, no insurance company will pay for this treatment. Fundraising and donations are the way most patients get there. Well, I am way past the initial money that we had and since my body is still needing more time, we are in need of more money for me to be able to stay and get into remission which is holding 0's for 2 weeks before being able to go home. There will always be work for me to do at home/the convent to keep and stay in remission (holding 0's) but it is crucial to get to hold 0's before leaving as the healing process of CRPS always involves CRPS trying to make a comeback. It is affectionately known as a 2-year-old throwing a temper tantrum. Once it realizes it won't get its way after the crying and fighting and screaming it gives in. The "crying toddler" is all the flares during treatment and the "giving in" is when we can hold 0's for weeks. We are asking that if you feel called to help me to be able to pay for the rest of my treatment to please donate. All money received will go towards my March and April treatments (which averages $3,200 a week), housing and food (it is an outpatient facility), any other unforeseen expenses, and if there is enough money left over an ARP Wave machine to help keep me in remission when back at the convent ($15,000) and other bills that have accumulated. You will be remembered in all of the nuns' prayers but especially mine. I thank you all so kindly.