Hope for CRPS - Help Amanda Ramsay Fight the Flame
Donation protected
Amanda Alamar Ramsay lives every day in excruciating pain due to Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), also known as the “suicide disease”. Tragically, this condition has been dubbed the “suicide disease” due to the severity of the pain it causes to those who suffer. Amanda, and others with CRPS, describes it as feeling like they are literally being burned alive. Treatment at the Spero Clinic is Amanda’s best chance to fight the flame, but she can’t do it alone. She needs your help.
CRPS is a condition that is associated with the imbalance and malfunction of the autonomic nervous system. CRPS mistranslates nerve signals from the affected area to be received as extreme and insurmountable pain, while also undermining the patient’s immune system. Medically speaking, it is the most painful disease known to man – rating higher than both childbirth and amputation on the McGill Pain Index (see visual below).
Amanda was initially diagnosed 7 years ago. With hard painful work, she was able to reach remission, and found some relief. Unfortunately, after 3 years of remission, she sprained her ankle and the CRPS returned. Every day since that fateful fall has been filled with agonizing pain, as the condition continues to spread up her leg.
“Over almost 3 years, I have personally watched my baby sister go from silly dances with her nephews, hiking Half Dome, searching for endangered snakes throughout the desert, and training lions as she works tirelessly for the conservation of animals as a zookeeper, to being bound to her house. She is only able to explore the outdoor world that she loves by using crutches or a scooter. Even then, she hobbles along the trail with tears flowing down her face and returns to the car to scream out in pain with the doors shut, so people don’t hear her. We still hear her; we still see the pain. We still see the sadness, the depression taking over. I have spoken to her on the nights when she can’t sleep, because of the terrible pain the sheets cause when they touch her leg. I have sat in the doctors’ appointments with her when neurologists look at her pale, see-through leg and are shocked that she is not in a wheelchair. I was with her when a leading neurologist told her that her case was hopeless. It breaks my heart,” describes her big sister, Alicia.
“It’s almost impossible to wrap your head around the ways this condition affects every aspect of your life- the toll that it takes on your mental health, your personal relationships, your ability to support yourself, your ability to sleep- it takes everything from you,” explains her twin sister, Alex, who has been in remission from the same horrifying condition for more than a decade.
Amanda and her family are seeking the community’s help to cover the cost of an effective 12 Week Neurologic Rehabilitation program in Arkansas that will put an end to the everyday excruciating pain. Amanda needs to travel from California to Arkansas for a chance to heal. At The Spero Clinic, Dr. Katinka van der Merwe and her team use a Neurologic Recovery Program to help patients who are suffering from severe chronic pain like CRPS.
Amanda’s condition is spreading up her body and she had little hope of improving until she found the Spero Clinic. Please help her on her journey of hope by donating to cover the cost of the program that could save her from this nightmare. We cannot thank you enough. I look forward to the day when I can write an update to you all and tell you that she has had success in her fight at the Spero Clinic.
CRPS is a condition that is associated with the imbalance and malfunction of the autonomic nervous system. CRPS mistranslates nerve signals from the affected area to be received as extreme and insurmountable pain, while also undermining the patient’s immune system. Medically speaking, it is the most painful disease known to man – rating higher than both childbirth and amputation on the McGill Pain Index (see visual below).
Amanda was initially diagnosed 7 years ago. With hard painful work, she was able to reach remission, and found some relief. Unfortunately, after 3 years of remission, she sprained her ankle and the CRPS returned. Every day since that fateful fall has been filled with agonizing pain, as the condition continues to spread up her leg.
“Over almost 3 years, I have personally watched my baby sister go from silly dances with her nephews, hiking Half Dome, searching for endangered snakes throughout the desert, and training lions as she works tirelessly for the conservation of animals as a zookeeper, to being bound to her house. She is only able to explore the outdoor world that she loves by using crutches or a scooter. Even then, she hobbles along the trail with tears flowing down her face and returns to the car to scream out in pain with the doors shut, so people don’t hear her. We still hear her; we still see the pain. We still see the sadness, the depression taking over. I have spoken to her on the nights when she can’t sleep, because of the terrible pain the sheets cause when they touch her leg. I have sat in the doctors’ appointments with her when neurologists look at her pale, see-through leg and are shocked that she is not in a wheelchair. I was with her when a leading neurologist told her that her case was hopeless. It breaks my heart,” describes her big sister, Alicia.
“It’s almost impossible to wrap your head around the ways this condition affects every aspect of your life- the toll that it takes on your mental health, your personal relationships, your ability to support yourself, your ability to sleep- it takes everything from you,” explains her twin sister, Alex, who has been in remission from the same horrifying condition for more than a decade.
Amanda and her family are seeking the community’s help to cover the cost of an effective 12 Week Neurologic Rehabilitation program in Arkansas that will put an end to the everyday excruciating pain. Amanda needs to travel from California to Arkansas for a chance to heal. At The Spero Clinic, Dr. Katinka van der Merwe and her team use a Neurologic Recovery Program to help patients who are suffering from severe chronic pain like CRPS.
Amanda’s condition is spreading up her body and she had little hope of improving until she found the Spero Clinic. Please help her on her journey of hope by donating to cover the cost of the program that could save her from this nightmare. We cannot thank you enough. I look forward to the day when I can write an update to you all and tell you that she has had success in her fight at the Spero Clinic.
Organizer
Tina Alamar
Organizer
Fresno, CA
