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Kyle Maness lives with the sensation that his body is on fire, an unfathomable pain that has only grown worse over the last five years. However, for the first time in half a decade, Kyle has hope for a pain-free future. Kyle Maness and his service dog Gunner will travel to Northwest Arkansas in July to start treatment at the Spero Clinic, a groundbreaking clinic that brings Kyle's condition, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), into remission.
CRPS is a rare, progressive disease of the autonomic nervous system. CRPS is rated the highest pain on the McGill Pain Index — above childbirth and amputation of a digit. The pain is characterized as constant, extremely intense, and often out of proportion from the original injury. It is nicknamed “The Suicide Disease” because many people choose to take their own lives rather than live in agonizing pain. It is estimated that CRPS affects nearly 200,000 people annually in the United States, according to the National Organization for Rare Diseases.
Kyle developed CRPS type II in both feet, lower legs and right arm after surviving a horrific work accident in 2015. During the course of his work day for an offshore maritime company in Houston, a part malfunctioned and spewed 300F liquid on Kyle. His body was coated with the searing liquid and he sustained deep second, first, and third degree burns over 40 percent of his body. Kyle was placed in a ketamine coma after morphine could not make the burn treatment bearable and spent time in two different burn units with many infections as his skin struggled to recover. After the burns healed, however, the pain did not disappear but instead continued to increase. “This disease has overtaken his life. It’s burning, stabbing, walking-on-knives pain that literally makes him feel like he is on fire,” Natali Maness said. “In addition to his physical pain, Kyle acquired mental trauma from his accident and suffers from complex post traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and severe depression, just to name a few. It has been a rough five years tainted with hopelessness and no desire to continue living.”
CRPS is considered incurable by most medical practitioners, but the Maness family kept looking for answers. Kyle’s mother, Lani Maness, came across the Spero Clinic in Fayetteville, Arkansas — an integrated health clinic that uses a holistic approach to addressing chronic nerve pain and has brought hundreds of patients into remission. The Spero Clinic, led by Dr. Katinka Van Der Merwe, is the only clinic in the world with their unique approach. Not only do patients come from all over the United States to receive care, but many patients travel internationally as well. Dr. K uses 16 different treatments over the coarse of 12 - 16 weeks to heal the nervous system; it is essentially rehab for your nervous system. The treatment also includes comprehensive bloodwork that will help get underlying health conditions under control.
The birth of his son Grayson Maness on Kyle’s 30th birthday in March 2019 changed his outlook. “He is the hope that Kyle needed to continue to fight for his life and healing,” Natali Maness said. “He felt so helpless that because of this awful disease, he cannot be there for myself and Grayson in the ways he wants to be. His son’s birth drove Kyle's need for his CRPS to be in remission.”
As Kyle looks forward to the treatment that has helped so many other patients in his situation, his family faces another challenge — paying for this revolutionary treatment that health insurance companies do not cover. Treatment at the Spero Clinic ranges from $35,000-$45,000 for 14 weeks, not including living expenses for being out of state which are another $10,000 on top of the treatment. They have sold personal items and raised a portion of the funds but still need help. It is urgent that they raise the money as soon as they can considering Kyle was approved to begin treatment in late July.
For more information or questions please don't hesitate to reach out to Natali (Kyle's wife) or Lani Maness (Kyle's mother).
Follow his story at Gunner Maness - Facebook or @gunner_g.s.p_service dog - Instagram.
Article written by Anna Canton
Natali Maness
@nmaness29 - Instagram
Natali Maness - Facebook
Lani Maness
@laniandleslie - Instagram
Lani Maness - Facebook
CRPS is a rare, progressive disease of the autonomic nervous system. CRPS is rated the highest pain on the McGill Pain Index — above childbirth and amputation of a digit. The pain is characterized as constant, extremely intense, and often out of proportion from the original injury. It is nicknamed “The Suicide Disease” because many people choose to take their own lives rather than live in agonizing pain. It is estimated that CRPS affects nearly 200,000 people annually in the United States, according to the National Organization for Rare Diseases.
Kyle developed CRPS type II in both feet, lower legs and right arm after surviving a horrific work accident in 2015. During the course of his work day for an offshore maritime company in Houston, a part malfunctioned and spewed 300F liquid on Kyle. His body was coated with the searing liquid and he sustained deep second, first, and third degree burns over 40 percent of his body. Kyle was placed in a ketamine coma after morphine could not make the burn treatment bearable and spent time in two different burn units with many infections as his skin struggled to recover. After the burns healed, however, the pain did not disappear but instead continued to increase. “This disease has overtaken his life. It’s burning, stabbing, walking-on-knives pain that literally makes him feel like he is on fire,” Natali Maness said. “In addition to his physical pain, Kyle acquired mental trauma from his accident and suffers from complex post traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and severe depression, just to name a few. It has been a rough five years tainted with hopelessness and no desire to continue living.”
CRPS is considered incurable by most medical practitioners, but the Maness family kept looking for answers. Kyle’s mother, Lani Maness, came across the Spero Clinic in Fayetteville, Arkansas — an integrated health clinic that uses a holistic approach to addressing chronic nerve pain and has brought hundreds of patients into remission. The Spero Clinic, led by Dr. Katinka Van Der Merwe, is the only clinic in the world with their unique approach. Not only do patients come from all over the United States to receive care, but many patients travel internationally as well. Dr. K uses 16 different treatments over the coarse of 12 - 16 weeks to heal the nervous system; it is essentially rehab for your nervous system. The treatment also includes comprehensive bloodwork that will help get underlying health conditions under control.
The birth of his son Grayson Maness on Kyle’s 30th birthday in March 2019 changed his outlook. “He is the hope that Kyle needed to continue to fight for his life and healing,” Natali Maness said. “He felt so helpless that because of this awful disease, he cannot be there for myself and Grayson in the ways he wants to be. His son’s birth drove Kyle's need for his CRPS to be in remission.”
As Kyle looks forward to the treatment that has helped so many other patients in his situation, his family faces another challenge — paying for this revolutionary treatment that health insurance companies do not cover. Treatment at the Spero Clinic ranges from $35,000-$45,000 for 14 weeks, not including living expenses for being out of state which are another $10,000 on top of the treatment. They have sold personal items and raised a portion of the funds but still need help. It is urgent that they raise the money as soon as they can considering Kyle was approved to begin treatment in late July.
For more information or questions please don't hesitate to reach out to Natali (Kyle's wife) or Lani Maness (Kyle's mother).
Follow his story at Gunner Maness - Facebook or @gunner_g.s.p_service dog - Instagram.
Article written by Anna Canton
Natali Maness
@nmaness29 - Instagram
Natali Maness - Facebook
Lani Maness
@laniandleslie - Instagram
Lani Maness - Facebook
Organizer
Natali Maness
Organizer
Huntsville, TX
