Overpowering pain: A family’s quest for relief
Just seven months ago, Berthoud resident Markli Sommers was a happy, healthy, hard-working, 20-year-old, pursuing her dreams for a promising future. Those dreams are on hold now as she fights against a mysterious and invisible, but very real demon — unrelenting and severe pain.
Markli’s leg pain quickly became so severe that within a few months she could no longer walk. Her skin became so sensitive that she could not bear even the lightest touch. The pressure of a bedsheet covering her feet was too much to bear. It was the beginning of a long and arduous journey to find relief. A journey that is not yet over.
At first, Markli’s pain was confined to her left foot. Doctors eventually discovered a cyst, which had to be surgically removed. Instead of providing relief, the pain intensified. No one could explain it. Physical therapists accused her of being “overly dramatic” and Markli was told there was “no way your pain could be that bad.” It was. And it was getting worse.
For months, Berthoud residents Brian and Sabrina Sommers took their daughter Markli to see medical specialists in an effort to find answers and get relief for their daughter. Doctor after doctor left them with no answers. Natural medicine specialists couldn’t help either. Finally, one specialist was at least able to give a name to Markli’s condition, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).
The Mayo Clinic describes CRPS as “a form of chronic pain that usually affects an arm or a leg. CRPS typically develops after an injury, a surgery, a stroke or a heart attack. The pain is out of proportion to the severity of the initial injury.”
CRPS is uncommon and its causes are not yet understood, but its symptoms are devastating to those who suffer with it. Patients describe the pain as an electric shock combined with a severe, burning sensation.
The McGill Pain Scale (0-50) is commonly used to evaluate levels of pain. Zero is no pain, 50 is the maximum on the scale. McGill rates the pain of having a bone fracture at about 18, while having a finger amputated is rated at around 40. The pain of CRPS patients is rated between 42 and 46. CRPS is sometimes called “The Suicide Disease” because there is no cure and treatments don’t always provide relief. Some patients would rather die than face a life of unrelenting pain. Markli is not one of those patients.
Despite her constant pain, Markli is determined to regain her quality of life. “I’ve never seen anyone with such a horrible condition be so positive,” said Markli’s great aunt, Joyce Rice, from her home in Berthoud, “In all my years as a psychotherapist working with victims of trauma, I’ve never seen anyone’s faith grow like Markli’s has. She is remarkable.”
In a CRPS support group on Facebook, Markli found hope. Other CRPS patients recommended the Spero Clinic in Arkansas as a place that has treated CRPS successfully in some patients. Because there is no cure, the clinic has developed a holistic program that can minimize symptoms in some cases. The 4-month treatment program is expensive and not always successful, but Markli set her sights on trying it.
With her pain getting worse by the day and confined to a wheelchair, Markli and her mother moved to Arkansas in late September when a slot opened at the clinic. Rice says they left “on a wing and a prayer, not knowing how they’d pay for the treatment, much less the home they had to rent and the new equipment they’d have to buy as part of the regimen.”
“It’s been a roller coaster for her so far,” says Rice about Markli’s first month at the clinic, “she has made great progress. She took her first steps yesterday. But there have also been setbacks too.” Rice related that while Markli’s pain is getting better and she’s learning to walk again, she has also started having severe spasms called “myoclonic jerks.” These are involuntary muscle contractions that can be quite severe. Hiccups are a mild form of myoclonic jerk. Markli’s jerks affect her head and neck – and can go on for prolonged periods of time. Still, Markli is hopeful that her time at the clinic will resolve these issues as well.
On Oct. 16, Markli Sommers celebrated her 21st birthday at the clinic. She recently posted a message about her progress on Facebook. She said, “This is such a rollercoaster of a journey, but I do know one thing and that is God is so faithful and He is so good and there is a purpose behind all of the pain and confusion! He hears our every prayer. I will never stop fighting until I’m in full remission. Giving up is not an option. I have to keep fighting for myself, for my future, and for my family.”
Joyce Rice, has been one of her great niece’s most dedicated advocates. Having herself survived two diseases that doctors said should have killed her decades ago, Rice also suffers from chronic pain and understands Markli’s precarious position. She knows Markli is anxious and concerned about being a burden on her family, especially financially.
Rice has been spearheading fundraising efforts to help defray the mounting costs of Markli’s treatment program and the equipment she’ll need to use for the rest of her life to keep the CPRS pain at bay. You can email Rice at [email protected] for more information about helping Markli via several fundraising efforts currently underway including a GoFundMe page at gofund.me/abbd89d8. You can also hear Markli Sommers tell her own story on YouTube. Search for “Markli Sommers CRPS Story.”
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