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To carry on with CRPS Awareness Month, here are some myths and misconceptions of CRPS from the National Pain Foundation. Myth: Doctors know what causes CRPS.Fact: No one knows what causes CRPS. However, a number of factors have been associated with it, including trauma, heart attack (though extremely rare), cervical spine or spinal cord disorders (rare), cerebral lesions, infections, surgery and chronically painful disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Myth: CRPS is a newly discovered disorder.Fact: CRPS-I has been called a variety of names for nearly 140 years. Today, the disorder is most commonly referred to as reflex sympathetic dystrophy (officially called CRPS I) orRead More →

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In: Chronic Pain

November is CRPS awareness month so I decided to share some facts about CRPS to help raise awareness. Please feel free to pass them on, they came from the National Pain Foundation web site. · Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) types I and II are the current terms used by the International Association for the Study of Pain to more accurately describe the conditions previously known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) and causalgia. · There are two types of CRPS: type I and type II. Type I refers to cases of RSDS that do not involve nerve injuries. Type II refers to those CRPS casesRead More →

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In: Chronic Pain

Friendships are a difficult thing when you have a chronic illness . Especially when you are surrounded by people who are “normal.” It is a struggle to balance the desire to share what life is like for you and the desire to avoid appearing to be a complainer or a whiner or even worse, a faker. The more I live here at college, the more this becomes a struggle. I’ve made friends, sure. There are people who I can talk to, but it seems that all of the friendships are superficial. Nothing really goes beyond “how are you” and the obligatory response of “okay.” IRead More →

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In: Chronic Pain

The following is from my devotional book for today. I found it really helpful and encouraging. It was a great reminder about God’s love that I really needed to be reminded of today. “Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life.” Psalm 23:6 God cannot love us more or less than He does at this moment. He chooses to heal and not to heal for His own reasons. All His decisions come from His love. But whether He chooses to heal or take us home, His love remains constant.From Breaking Free Day by Day by Beth Moore I thinkRead More →

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In: Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain
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Exactly one year ago today, I was studying for my biology class, just like any other day. I stood up, and in doing so, my life changed. Isn’t it amazing that life can change in a split second? I had no idea that the numbness and tingling I felt would last so long, or become what it has today. Certainly I had no clue that the past year would have changed me so much. Yet it has. Looking back, the change is interesting. Obviously, I’ve changed physically, but it is more than that. I’ve changed my area of study from graphic design to nursing (thoughRead More →

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In: Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain, Mental Health
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“He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…in this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” 1 Peter 1:3 and 6 In our growth group, we are reading through 1 Peter and that stood out to me. We all have trials and grief, but even through all of our suffering, we can still hold hope because He has given us HOPE. It is that hope that gets us through the long days (and nights) and through the long trials. WeRead More →

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In: Garden, Pets, Photography
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I really like photography and hope to do more of it, here are some of my favorite pictures I’ve taken over the past few years. Pretty in Pink 2009 Looking Up 2009 Autumn Countryside 2009 Rustic 2009 Flying High 2008 Ready for Take-off 2008 Golden 2008 Peace Like a Dove 2008 Fire in the Sky 2008 Hermit 2007 Fly Away 2007 Rising Moon 2006 2nd Place – County FairRead More →

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In: Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain

I found the following article at a great web site called Rest Ministries and it really touched my heart and explained a little how I feel. I want to post more, but I’m very tired right now. Hopefully I can give an update soon! “Too Young” by Carolynn Cheatham “You’re too young to have this.”“OK, then fix it, please.”“We don’t know how.”The common and frequent questions:How did you develop a nerve problem?Were you in an accident? The answers, always the same:I don’t know. The doctors can’t figure it out.No accident, I just woke up with it.There’s nothing they can do. The usual response:Oh honey, IRead More →

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In: Dogs

This has been a very, very long week. I’m exhausted. Homework has been heavy and intense, though I feel like I’ve finally caught up, and even got ahead on my Chemistry homework thanks to a boring trip to the ER (I’m fine, I think). I had forgotten to pack my pills, so my parents made a special trip to bring them to me Saturday (4 hours round-trip, thanks so much!). When they came, they brought my dog with them, which made me so happy. We drove around the village my college is in and around the lake near the college. It was so good toRead More →

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In: Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain

Nearly 1 in 2 people in America struggle with a chronic illness, yet about 96% of these illnesses are invisible. Words like Fibromyalgia, Diabetes, and Multiple Sclerosis have become common household words, but what about the millions who struggle with chronic illnesses like Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or Lupus? Have you heard of those? I’m one of the millions who struggle with pain and illness every second of my life, yet it can rarely be seen. Invisible Illness Week is the week of September 14 through the 18 and the web site Invisible Illness Week has an online conference during that weekRead More →