Pain is our body's way of telling us that something isn't quite right. While pain is inherently unpleasant, it's often something we can take measures to eliminate, or at the very least manage.
Thanks to modern technology, experiences like childbirth or surgeries can be relatively pain free.
Unfortunately for 23-year-old Paige Howitt, the type of pain she has knows no end or limit.
Paige is a victim of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). There is little known about the condition or how to cure it.
What is known is that those who suffer from CRPS experience the worst kind of pain that researchers are currently aware of.
In fact, Paige's condition is so severe, that it affects her ability to sleep and have both a career and a social life.
Luckily, there is a solution that might help her return to normal.
Paige tells SWNS that she had knee pain since her early teens, but that the serious pain didn't start until she had surgery in 2011.
She went in to get her kneecap realigned, but the surgeons experienced complications.
Ultimately, Paige was diagnosed with CRPS type 2. The pain began as a burning before becoming excruciating.
The nerve damage from the procedure is what initially triggered her CRPS symptoms.
The pain has gotten in the way of almost every aspect of Paige's life. It interrupted her plans to become a pediatric nurse, and has gotten in the way of her spending time with friends.
She says:
If people want to go out and get drinks, or go to the cinema, it’s almost impossible for me because the knee always has to be in certain positions to stop it being more painful.
The McGill pain scale is commonly used to gauge the level of pain someone is experiencing.
To give you an idea, the pain associated with CRPS is worse than childbirth or having a toe amputated.
Bear in mind, Paige is experiencing this 24 hours a day.
To handle the burning pain, Paige uses ice packs and even admits to sleeping by the freezer with a pregnancy pillow to get comfortable.
Even with the accommodations, she only gets around four hours of sleep a night, when she's getting any sleep at all.
Paige even has a mini freezer at work to keep ice packs available to her at all times.
Paige explains:
At any one time, my knee is either blue from the cold or red from the burning sensation, and nothing in between.
The pain has gotten so debilitating that Paige has decided to look into some serious options.
She had some luck with therapy in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
She explains that she was initially amazed by the treatment. "It felt like it had numbed the whole body, relieving the pain and giving me a bit of respite," she said.
Unfortunately, the treatment is expensive and the facility isn't easily accessible.
Paige hopes to raise enough money to purchase her own machine at home so she can get back to pursuing her career goals, or even just go to the movies without being too uncomfortable to sit still.
Paige says that she has two options: "to either raise money for my own machine, or to have my leg amputated."
You can find Paige's donation site here.
Make sure to SHARE her story with anyone you know who might be able to help!
