[mom22galz]

Hi All,

My 11y/o daughter was recently diagnosed with CRPS.

Last summer she suffered multiple trauma in a tragic car accident which claimed the lives of two cousins and also injured her sister. The accident resulted in many months of inpatient and day-patient treatments. Both my girls are back at school now and have made a miraculous recovery, although they still have much work to do! We knew all along that my 11y/o had some nerve issues in her right foot, but had no name for the condition and were not aware it could spread etc.

As a result of the CRPS diagnosis, her PT routine has changed and she began taking gabapentin which does seem to be helping. She is being followed by the pain team at Sick Kids in Toronto, so I suppose we are lucky to have doctors who understand the condition.

My current dilemma has to do with a long-anticipated surgery. Right after the accident, her left leg was surgically repaired with internal fixation. The ends of the pins were deliberately left fairly exposed to facilitate easy removal once the fracture had healed, as is common practice for pediatric patients. She has significant pain at the pinsites, and has bravely accepted that this pain, unlike that in her right foot, would go away once the pins were gone... you see where I am going with this...

The CRPS Dx means there is no guarantee the surgical removal will reduce her pain, and could in fact make things worse. She is so young, my heart is aching that she will have to fight yet another battle -- while at the same time realizing we could so easily have lost her already and trying to find joy in that.

We are so new to CRPS, I'm thankful to have found this site!