What happens with your perfect life is robbed by a debilitating disease?

My name is Trudy Thomas and on April 4, 2005 my life as I had know it, ended. I was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) aka CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome). The cause? A simple hand surgery on my right thumb which should of healed in 6 weeks and never did. I was the sole breadwinner of my family; my daughter was in her senior year of high school. Bright, intelligent she was headed to a bright future in the college of her choice. I had a satisfying, lucrative career, traveling weekly all across the US visiting client sites and could have afforded her the best education money could buy. Physical therapy was the first line of defense. Next came a series of Stellate Ganglion Blocks (SGB). Dozens of medications were tried. Nothing helped and I continued to get worse. In the next 2 years, my RSD began to spread. It consumed both hands, legs, my jaw and eyes to the point that I could no longer read. I experienced episodes of dystonia so violent the thrashing around of my limbs caused muscle tears. I stuttered when I spoke, short-term memory was non-existent and I became paranoid, prone to anxiety attacks which eventually got so bad I never stepped out of my house except for doctor appointments. My doctor wanted to amputate the right hand; I refused. Surgery for the RSD patient usually causes the disease to spread. There is no cure for RSD; even the cause of it is unknown. Doctors eventually become discouraged because they can’t “cure” us and tend to just use medication to mask the symptoms. My neurologist calls RSD the “Mother of All Neuropathies”. Nerve pain feels like your entire body has been soaked in gasoline and set on fire. At my worst, even my hair hurt. My husband walking too close to me and stirring the air would cause me to wince with pain; every fiber and nerve in your body is hyper-sensitive because the sympathetic nervous system is effected with this condition.