Curing Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS): Our Daughter’s JourneyWhen our 9-year-old daughter broke a bone in her foot during a lacrosse game, we never imagined it would lead to something as devastating as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).Our vibrant, imaginative daughter quickly transformed into a couch-ridden shell of herself, battling not just limb pain but also severe nausea, headaches, dizziness, and chest pain. Nights were the hardest—she would crawl into our room, pleading for relief from the unbearable fire in her leg.We sought help from countless specialists, but each visit ended with a new boot, crutches, medications, or a dismissive glance that suggested her pain wasn’t real. Even after hospitalization for poor blood flow, we found ourselves downplaying our concerns, fearing judgment from the medical teams as they insinuated that she was either making it up or that we, as parents, were somehow influencing her pain.By the time another MRI revealed the bone fragment, it was too late—CRPS had fully taken hold, and our daughter could no longer walk. Physical therapy, surgery, a spinal nerve block, and pain medications all failed to bring relief. We were watching our daughter disappear.Desperate, we found a clinic in Arkansas that seemed like a beacon of hope for CRPS sufferers. We uprooted our lives and moved there, clinging to the promise of a cure. But instead of healing, our daughter endured months of excruciating treatments that left her with blisters, burns, deep fatigue, and months of PTSD (nightmares, anger, fear, tears, and high reactivity) from her treatment. The clinic, run by untrained staff, offered no compassion, and the doctors were distant figures who never even acknowledged our presence as they strode through the pain-filled waiting room.When you’re in the depths of despair, you’ll do anything to help your child. We stayed far longer than we should have, convinced we had no other option.Enter Axon Integrative. A desperate internet search led us to Dr. DeBeer, who confidently told us they could help. With nothing to lose, we left Arkansas and returned to Colorado, placing our trust in Axon.The difference was immediate and profound. Axon’s clinic was clean, welcoming, and run by compassionate professionals who focused on treating the root cause—our daughter’s brain.Despite her immense pain, our daughter, now 13, reported that her treatment didn’t hurt at all. They never touched her leg. CRPS is a neurological condition, and they knew that the key to healing lay in rewiring her brain, not in torturing her body.In just one month, our daughter could touch her leg and walk without assistance. Her other symptoms—nausea, dizziness, and chest pain, also began to fade away. We watched in awe as she came back to life, sleeping through the night, reconnecting with friends, and rediscovering her joy.Six weeks into treatment, she cautiously stated that she thought she was in remission. By week seven, she declared that was cured. Her brain had healed, her life restored.Axon doesn’t just treat CRPS/POTS (which tend to come together); they understand the brain and how to heal it, leading them to do so much more. They are a full-spectrum neuro-care clinic that treats a myriad of injuries, maladies, syndromes, and illnesses. We watched their work with others, we witnessed the care and progress that happened with all of their clients; each of whom reported feeling special, individualized, cared for, and, most of all, hopeful for the return of their lives.Today, our daughter is back to her old self— she has returned to school, is playing lacrosse, engaging with friends, dancing in the kitchen, and vying for her brother’s attention. She’s back and she hasn’t stopped smiling, neither have we. Our gratitude to Drs. DeBeer and Wadsworth is beyond words—they restored her health and truly saved her life.
