Introduction

Hello!!!

Since this is my first post let me begin from the beginning.
The Summer of 1995 I had turned 17 years old. I received my drivers license and began working at a fast food chain restaurant. Typical teenager stuff right? Well, one day in August changed everything. It was getting to the end of my shift and I was just watching the clock tick by. I was leaning over a table wiping it off and then moved to go to the adjacent table. Suddenly my right knee hurt, really hurt. I tried to take a step and realized that just putting weight on it hurt too. So I thought, okay maybe I twisted it or pulled it somehow...but how? I only had five more minutes till end of shift so I kept this pain to myself. It was no big deal and nothing serious so why get a manager involved. Getting home that night was tricky. My car was a stick shift and my knee hurt whenever I moved my leg. Thankfully I only had a few blocks to drive!
My Dad who played sports growing up and for a short while was a High School coach took care of me as soon as I got in the door. My knee was swollen and red.
A week went by and my knee was still giving me issues so my parents took me to the doctor. He gave me extra strength Motrin for the pain, told me to rest and elevate it, and call back in two weeks if it wasn't better. Two weeks went by and I was still hurting and the Motrin did NOTHING for the pain. Next step was an x-ray and visiting an orthopedic specialist. That doctor put me into a patella brace had me use crutches and gave me some exercises to do. My knee cap would swell over the patella brace and the brace hurt so much more than when I went without it. Then when we went back to see him and tell him how the pain was getting stronger instead of subsiding he looked me in the eye and I will never forget what he said to me "You will be in pain until you decide not to be in pain any more." He basically told my Mom that I was doing this for attention and that there was nothing he could do for me.
I cannot even put into words how his response hurt me emotionally. I knew what I was feeling was real and I wanted it to stop. My mind kept repeating his words and I couldn't help but think "he is a Doctor".
Then a few days later my Dad talked to me and explained that I could get a second opinion. That if I felt that there really was something wrong with me we could get another doctor to examine me.
The second Orthopedic Doctor changed that darned Patella Brace for an Immobilizer Brace. He put me on Tylenol w/Codeine. He ran more tests. Then for our follow up appointment he was more than 30 minutes late coming into the office that day. I was exhausted and I just wasn't so sure of doctors anymore. When he did finally come into the office he explained why he was late. He was just getting back from a conference about Chronic Pain Disorders. He then went into a long explanation that I only half way listened to. My ears perked up when I heard him say "I think she may have this but I am not sure since I am only just now learning about it." My heart and head both leaped...there was something wrong with me! So this time I listened as he explained what he just learned about Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. He wrote it down for us even! What he was able to tell us was that I still needed to be properly diagnosed, so we had to travel to Philadelphia, PA to be seen at a Pain Management Office in Temple University Hospital.
This is when I began to realize that not only was my pain very real but it was something very serious.
The Doctors and Nurses at Temple University treated me very well. Having a Doctor come into an exam room and understand the pain I was going through was such a joy. I had gone through months of family, friends, teachers and a Doctor doubting the extent of my pain!
Of course I was diagnosed as having Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy in my right knee. The first week of January 1996 began my long hard fight to stop my RSD. At first the doctors had high hopes. I was young and we caught it relatively early, 5 months before treatments began. Unfortunately in the fall of '96 my RSD spread down to my ankle and I slowly lost time in between treatments. By the time I was 21 I had 100+ blocks with two one week hospital stays. I was only getting a maximum of 23 days pain free.
My mom began looking for other options. She found a doctor who informed her about a Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) and how it possibly help with maintaining my pain. I went through trials and was approved. My SCS was implanted in July of '99. Just months after the surgery I was feeling great. I used my SCS daily but with it my pain was decreased by 60%! It was the best I had felt in years! Slowly I began walking for exercise, going out with friends, and I took a part time job. I was reclaiming my life and it felt so good.
Life with a SCS to maintain my pain was great. I was able to keep it hidden under my clothes so people wouldn't see it and ask questions. I could pretend as if I did not have RSD. In September of 2000 I took a full time office job at Lucent Technologies. That is where I met my future husband. One week after Thanksgiving of 2001 he proposed to me and I cried happy tears. We planned a small wedding and both wanted a family right away. On December 15 2002 we were married. By May 10 2003 our son Gabriel was born. I had a pain free pregnancy that I didn't even need to use my SCS during. We were living the good life!
Then I back slid. Since our son's birth in 2003 I have had to undergo 6 surgeries to "fix" or replace the Spinal Cord Stimulator. The last surgery was in June 2007 and it left me with Chronic Back Pain. My doctor believes it has to do with the Spinal Cord Stimulator and the numerous surgeries. I haven't been able to work in the past 2 years. Last summer I was approved for permanent disability.

That basically brings us to the present day. I hope to bring awareness to others about Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy and inspiration to those who are living with it just like I am. Living with Chronic Pain is, well lack for a better word, a Pain! I am looking forward to blogging about my 14+ years of pain and what I have learned from it. I am always touched to hear about others who are surviving this painful disorder and their family members who just want to reach out and help their loved ones.

With Love, Prayers and Tender Hugs
Marti Ann