Mara's Message

In January, 1994 my life quickly changed because a pallet fell on my foot and I developed Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (RSD/CRPS). It took over 6 months to get diagnosed and I went from a healthy athletic 32 year old to a very thin, frantic, 32 year old walking with a cane and renting wheel chairs. One day, I changed, I mean I really changed and realized that I was the one responsible for my health and I was the only one who could control my attitude. I will never forget the day it happened. It was the day the pain management doctor looked at me and said my chance of ever walking again unassisted or living without pain was less than 50%. I got upset and looked at him and remember saying to him "You are not God and You don't know me."

I fully understand why the doctor told me that. He didn't want me to get my hopes up too high and he was speaking from his experience in dealing with patients who had the same diagnosis as me. In a way, I am grateful he said it. The doctor saying that, gave me the determination I needed to make sure that wasn't going to happen to me. That comment also pushed me to educate myself on RSD. I understood the disease/syndrome to be that my initial injury had physically healed yet my brain was still causing my body to react as if the injury had just occured. I felt that if I did nothing and laid around, my brain would think that it was right, so I started moving. I mean if I was going to feel bad I certainly wasn't going to do it lying on a couch! The hardest part of deciding to move was learning how much movement was too much.

Life is full of choices, that day after I did my research, I clearly made one. I made the choice to push myself until I was walking without a cane. I also made the choice that if I was going to be in pain for the rest of my life I was going to live my life. I had a long life left!

I am not saying that my journey was easy, it wasn't. It began with lumbar sacral blocks leading to a sympathectomy. Physical therapy, chiropractors, massage therapy, forcing myself to exercise, quitting smoking, limiting my caffeine, eating better, taking supplements, making sure I slept better, and setting different priorities for myself (I wasn't the same person physically or mentally because of the RSD and the chronic pain and I couldn't do the same things in a day I used to). It took me five years to walk without a visible limp and eleven years to find the chi machine, far infrared hothouse dome, and electro reflex energizer which has led me to sharing my story with you.

To sum my journey up, I developed a strong personal belief that "We are responsible for our own health". Doctors are individuals who perform a service based on their experiences and education, just like an accountant or lawyer. They do not have god like powers, they do not have magic pills, and they do not control your destiny. Doctors have options and treatments that can help you. You must participate in getting yourself well! The doctors can't do it by themselves. The therapists, the herbalist, the naturopath, all can not do it by themselves either. You have to do your part and PARTICIPATE. When you go to your appointments, you have to educate yourself on your options, listen to what they say, and together, you have to do the treatments/activities you decide to do from the ones they recommend. You also need to have confidence in the decisions you make and surround yourself with friends and family who are supportive. Don't ever doubt yourself, what you feel is real. No one knows you better than you.

My friend Connie said to me one day and I will never forget it - "Every day when you get up, you have to choose to be enthusiastic". Each of us controls what we eat, what we think, how we feel. Believe in yourself, educate yourself on options and treatments, and know there are people who support you.

"Life is interactive - "Participate in your own health, in your relationships, in your community, and participate from your heart"!

© Written by Mara Gerke 01/17/2010