The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Kelly’s Crusaders set fundraiser
Torrington woman with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome seeks cure
TORRINGTON — Kelly Considine is still in pain.
Considine, now in her 30s, was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome as a young woman after a sports-related injury. Over time, the pain has increased, and she has lost much of her ability to stand and walk. She is just over six feet tall, and her weight has dwindled to about 100 pounds.
But her determination is strong, she’s looking forward to joining others this summer and is organizing a fundraising walk to raise money for research and improve public awareness of the debilitating disease that attacks a person’s nervous system.
Considine’s team, Kelly’s Crusaders, joined in-person walks in Long Island in
2018 and 2019, and held their own in Torrington in 2020 using the Sue Grossman Still River Greenway.
The second annual Virtual CRPS Awareness Walk is set for June 26 on the greenway, and Kelly’s Crusaders are ready to go. Considine, a city resident, will be there with her service dog, Gunner, along with supportive friends and family members. This year, her team is already leading with donations. “We’re hoping for another successful year,” she said.
“Last year our team raised over $6,800, and this year I’ve been asked to be the chairperson of the walk,” she said. “I’m very excited to be more involved because I love spreading awareness in the hopes that one day soon, we an find a cure for this horrendous condition.”
Teams of people affected by CRPS around the state and across the country participated in last year’s awareness walk, sending photos of themselves from Seymour and West Hartford, as well as from Oregon, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina and Nebraska.
“It was so great to see all these people doing it on their own,” Considine said.
According to the Mayo Clinic, CRPS usually affects an arm or leg, and typically develops after a injury, a surgery, a stroke or heart attack. The pain, the clinic says on its website, is out of proportion to the severity of the injury.
“I went to a surgery center in my freshman year of college, and a surgeon there cut one of the nerves in my ankle,” Considine said. “He told me I’d be off crutches by the end of the day,” Considine said. “Ever since then, the pain has spread beyond my leg. It’s affecting my blood pressure, my heart rate and my GI system, so eating is difficult, and I have to be very careful. The condition has just increased.”
The pandemic prompted groups to hold their own fundraisers. “My friends said, instead of canceling it, they wanted to have a virtual option,” she said. “Everyone came together and showed that even with the COVID-19 challenges, we were able to do this. Last year there were 33 teams, and we had participants from 40 states and three other countries.”
The money is donated for to the Milford-based nonprofit Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association. Considine found a support group on Facebook that participates in awareness-raising activities.
“What our group’s been doing is holding a Facebook Live series of talks for people living with the syndrome,” Considine said. “They also held a virtual conference with physicians, researchers and people with CRPS. Because it’s so rare, sometimes it’s hard to find other people who have it. But when you do you don’t feel like you’re all alone.”
The walk begins at 10 a.m. June 26 on the Winsted end of the Sue Grossman Still River Greenway. To make a donation, go to https://secure.qgiv.com/event/rsdsawalk2021/ team/874942-KellysCrusaders.
To learn more about the walk or sponsorship opportunities, email Considine at kelly.crpsawareness@gmail.com. To join her team, go to http://bit.ly/Kellys_Crusaders_2021.