Updated
Updated · Newsweek · Jun 20
Wioletta Wyrwol Endures 80-Plus Procedures as CRPS Spreads Beyond 2019 Arm Amputation
Updated
Updated · Newsweek · Jun 20

Wioletta Wyrwol Endures 80-Plus Procedures as CRPS Spreads Beyond 2019 Arm Amputation

1 articles · Updated · Newsweek · Jun 20

Summary

  • Wioletta Wyrwol said she is still living with CRPS and now faces serious complications in her leg and foot, years after losing her right forearm.
  • More than 80 procedures followed a 2013 wrist operation that triggered swelling, burning pain, discoloration and loss of function before doctors diagnosed the rare chronic pain condition.
  • A 2019 amputation became, in her account, the only way to move forward after years of worsening pain and failed treatments; she later learned to use a prosthetic arm.
  • Only a few people per 100,000 develop CRPS each year, and Wyrwol said she is sharing her case to raise awareness, challenge disability stereotypes and encourage others.

Insights

She chose amputation for relief, but can new virtual reality tools conquer the phantom limb pain that often follows?
Could early anti-inflammatory treatments, now in trials, prevent catastrophic nerve pain and amputation after routine surgeries?
As 'Color the World Orange Day' nears on November 2nd, what is the key to stopping rare pain syndromes before they begin?