Help David Fight CRPS

Dear friends and family, my name is Sandy Lozano Galvan. I live in Katy, Texas. I made this page for my son, David Hickerson. David is battling CRPS – Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (formerly known as RSD). In January, he had extensive knee surgery. A week later he tripped over my grandson, and landed on his injured knee, and sustained a high ankle sprain. Two days later, he woke up with his leg feeling like it was on fire. David’s central nervous system started attacking his leg and has not stopped. I am regurgitating what I have learned and I hope I get this right. Normally, when we get an injury, our sympathetic system, jumps into action. This system is responsible for the fight or flight mode. Afterwards, our parasympathetic system takes over and regulates our body and puts us back into a resting mode. With CRPS, your body always stays in the sympathetic mode, locked in a sort of crisis loop. Since that day, his life has never been the same. David is in constant around the clock pain. Walking a few feet is exhausting and excruciating. He has sustained nerve damage on his leg, and his leg continuously feels like it is being eaten alive by ants. Basically, every minute of the day, is hard for my son to endure. Because his central nervous system is always in a crisis mode, his skin has not been able to heal correctly, from the surgery. His leg is constantly swollen and turns different shades… from red, purple, blue, black and grey. Because of the nerve damage, the skin on his leg is overly sensitive to touch. It is so sensitive that the air hurts his leg. If you can imagine, wearing clothing is a feat. The worst pain comes from inside his limb. He says that if feels like his leg was set on fire, and nails are simultaneously being driven into his limb. David can no longer drive, because he is on so many narcotics.

There is no cure for CRPS, but if treatment is received within the first 60 days, there is a possibility that the symptoms of CRPS can go into a type of remission, or can help symptoms become somewhat manageable. This gives us a glimmer of hope. If not, CRPS can spread to the entire body, leaving the body wheelchair bound. CRPS is nicknamed the “Suicide Disease”, because many affected can’t bear the pain, and contemplate suicide. To give you an idea, CRPS has been rated as being more painful than child birth. If my son can’t get this under control, CRPS will also damage his internal organs.

I had never heard of CRPS until now.  If you are interested in learning more, here is a link:
http://rsds.org/living-with-crps/

Any type of invasive medical procedure can make CRPS spread (even something as tiny as a needle prick). We have found a doctor in Arkansas that specializes in CRPS and has written a book about it. This doctor treats CRPS without using invasive methods. This treatment focuses on trying to get his body out of the crisis loop. His military insurance would rather risk CRPS spreading, by wanting him to see doctors in his network, that only treat CRPS by using invasive methods. The insurance company has refused to pay for medical expenses. My son is deathly afraid of CRPS spreading, and is paying for treatment out of pocket.

David has been in Arkansas for two weeks and has 8 more weeks to finish treatment. Ten weeks of treatment costs $10,000 - $13,000, plus an additional $8,000 for needed home medical equipment, and the incurred cost of travel and lodging in Arkansas. He is draining through funds fast. As a mother, it is hard for me to see my son suffer. I am pleading with anyone who reads this, to please help David be able to afford the rest of his treatment. Any amount can help, big or small, and prayers are immensely appreciated. Donations will be directly used to help pay for his treatment while he is in Arkansas.  After having served 26 years in the military, David will be retiring later this year. He had plans to continue working as a civilian, supporting his spouse and children. If things do not improve, he will never be able to work again. Please help give David a chance to have a normal life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. God bless you for your donation.

Sincerely,

Sandy Lozano Galvan