Young woman diagnosed with ‘suicide disease’ faces race against time

By Liam On Jul 23, 2023

A young 17-year-old woman diagnosed with a ‘suicidal illness’ faces a race against time as her family tries to fund treatment for her debilitating, painful condition.

Amelia Martin, from Canterbury, Kent, was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) – which causes such constant severe pain that patients may consider committing suicide – after symptoms first emerged in September 2017.

While seeing her grandmother after school, Amelia, now 23, suddenly started crying and screaming in pain, so her mother Natalie, 48, was called to pick her up.

At random times Millie felt the sensation of pins and needles and even her skin burned – and her symptoms only got worse.

She kept saying her toes are burning. She wouldn’t let me touch her. She said she felt like she was dying, Millie’s mother, Ms. Martin, a beautician, told me The independent.

Amelia Martin (pictured before her diagnosis), of Canterbury, Kent, was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) – which causes such constant severe pain that patients may consider committing suicide – after symptoms first appeared in September 2017

Millie (pictured in hospital), now 23, was diagnosed with ‘suicide’ at age 17 and faces a race against time as her family tries to fund treatment for her debilitating, painful condition

Not a well-understood condition, according to the NHS, CRPS causes persistent severe and debilitating pain – which can cause burning and swelling with even the slightest touch.

Millie was taken to the doctor who thought she had an infection as her toes were red and inflamed.

But the next morning, Millie became paralyzed in all four limbs and lost her sense of taste and sensation.

She spent five weeks in the hospital as doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with her. The teen told medics she felt like she was being “burned alive.”

She gets serious looking bruises all over her body and knees that cause her immense pain.

Mrs Martin described her daughter’s time in hospital and said: ‘Those five weeks were horrific. I have never felt so lonely, so scared, and so useless. My daughter was screaming in pain and begging me to stop and there was nothing I could do to comfort her or make it better.”

Doctors eventually diagnosed her with CRPS, small fiber neuropathy – a nerve disorder – and an allergy that causes her skin to flake when it comes in contact with water.

“In 2017, when she was 17, she was living her best life, studying A-levels her senior year, taking driving lessons and deciding on all the great things she wanted to achieve in her life,” said Millie’s mom.

Millie’s condition can cause her face to swell and become inflamed and red

Millie’s bruises on her knees caused by her condition that leave her in terrible pain

Millie can no longer walk due to her weak limbs and suffers from tremors, muscle spasms

Millie can no longer walk due to her weak limbs and suffers from tremors, muscle spasms. To get around, she has to crawl on her hands and knees.

What is Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)?

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a poorly understood condition in which a person experiences persistent severe and debilitating pain.

While most cases of CRPS are caused by an injury, the resulting pain is much more severe and long-lasting than usual.

The pain usually affects only 1 limb, but can sometimes spread to other parts of the body.

The skin on the affected body part can become so sensitive that a light touch, bump or even a change in temperature can cause intense pain.

Affected areas may also become swollen, stiff, or experience fluctuating changes in color or temperature.

CRPS often improves gradually over time. But some people with CRPS are in pain for years.

Source: health service

She experiences severe pain with just a slight touch or change in temperature.

Due to the severity of her condition, Millie’s “solitary existence” is now confined to “four walls” and she does not leave the house unless she is taken to appointments.

After Millie’s family went through all the treatment options in the UK, she launched a GoFundMe to get her treatment in Arkansas in the US.

The Spero Clinic is the only place in the world to offer a treatment that can reduce pain levels to two or three from Millie’s current level of eight or nine, her mother said.

“If we don’t act, I know I won’t have my daughter next year,” Ms Martin added, adding it was the families’ “only hope”.

On the fundraising page, she wrote: “[Millie’s] The story is heartbreaking and for the past five and a half years we have watched her endure the relentless pain and intense suffering of a brutal neurological disorder.

“In 2017, when she was 17, she was living her best life, studying her last year of A-levels, taking driving lessons and deciding on all the wonderful things she wanted to achieve in her life… But the only dream she has now is not to be in this debilitating pain.”

The family is to raise £112,845 for Millie’s treatment, but this is only the original fee and would not cover her ongoing care.

As of this week, they’ve raised around £80,000 of their £150,000 goal.