Help Agatha Heal From CRPS
My name is Agatha Kulesza. I’m a 41-year-old Morris Plains, NJ resident who should be enjoying her life. Instead, I’ve been basically housebound because 4 months ago a neck adjustment at the chiropractor developed into an unbearable nerve pain condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).
This condition gives me severe, burning full body nerve pain that comes on in response to an injury, but it doesn’t go away on its own. CRPS is nicknamed "The Suicide Disease" because many people find it too hard to live in such agonizing pain.
The burning pain started in my arms after the injury and then spread to my legs and feet. I’ve tried countless medical treatments and undergone many tests. Unfortunately, the majority of them made my condition worse. Nothing has provided any lasting pain relief.
Worst of all, I received a steroid injection in my neck that landed me in the ER. What was supposed to help me actually spread the burning pain to my whole body. I felt like my entire body was on fire and even two bags of morphine at the ER did not take all of the pain away. After three trips to the ER in only two months and countless doctor visits, I had no answers for why I was in living hell.
It left me unable to walk or even sit. I became bed bound because even the slightest movement would flare my pain to a level 10 out of 10. From my bed, all I dreamed about was getting my life back. But I asked myself if my life in this condition was even worth living?
My sister has been my sole caretaker. She is only 26 years old and this has made for a very stressful time for our family. She has to help me bathe, wash my hair and make my daily meals.
The Spero Clinic in Arkansas, the only drug free CRPS clinic in the United States, has a minimum 3 month treatment plan that is starting to give me my life back. After only 4 weeks of treatment, my daily pain has gone from an 8/10 to a 6/10. I am able to walk without agony (see video below,) sit at the dinner table for the first time in 4 months and I’ve actually started smiling again. I now feel my life is worth living.
After 10 weeks of treatment, my daily average pain levels have dropped to a 4/10. In week 10, I even experienced ZERO pain for nearly four hours. My healing is making huge progress!
But my family and I face a steep challenge: it’s not covered by health insurance. In order to continue treatment to help me fully recover, we’re raising money with this GoFundMe. My sister has taken a leave of absence from work to be my caretaker during this time, which has created more financial stress.
Would you consider making a donation to help me get my life back? Any amount is deeply appreciated.
If you are an individual or a company that would prefer to give a TAX DEDUCTIBLE donation you can donate through the Burning Limb Foundation. All funds go to my care. Use this link, choose Specific Recipient, choose Honor at the bottom and then type my name https://burninglimb.com/GIVING/
