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CHRISTEL YARDLEY / STUFF
Faith Kitt, 14, suffers from complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and is likely to suffer for the rest of her life. She was injured playing netball at Hamilton's Minogue Park four years ago.
WARNING: The video of this story contains a scene that can be painful.
An unmarried mother is locked in a battle with ACC about financial aid while she is taking care of her teenage daughter who is fighting the most painful condition.
Faith Kitt, 14, has been living with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) since she was injured at the ankle during a netball match in 2013.
L & K Teenager from Hamilton who loved to do sports said she worried about her future. sometimes, the crises that she suffers can last up to seven hours.
"It's so scary to have no control over my body [during a seizure]," Faith said. "The CRPS has taken over my life and I want to become a normal teenager again."
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CRPS, an invasive neurological disease that causes the # 39 Irregularity of the nervous system of a person, sends signals to a limb that it is in acute pain when it is not.
CHRISTEL YARDLEY / STUFF
Faith would like to return to a "normal teenage life" but knows that it will be difficult to get there.
According to the Pain Index of McGill University, the amputation of a finger or toe without analgesic is more distressing
In the case of Faith, the pain becomes so intense that she sometimes spends months in school. As a result, her mother, Tracie Kitt, was forced to leave her job to take care of her full time.
In 2016, the family requested financial assistance from ACC for the state of Faith and the caregiver role of his mother
ACC rated Faith for a Permanent Impairment Allowance which, if granted, would have helped the family.
However, VAC rejected the application and assessed Faith at 0% because "thanks to treatment, she should recover from CRPS"
ACC ruled that Kitt was not entitled to compensation because Faith "did not demand
Faith's mother, Tracie Kitt, had to quit her job to become a full-time caregiver and is fighting VAC to provide financial support to the family.
But Kitt finds the answer from the confusing ACC. "They certainly have not considered Faith's not like other healthy kids," she says.
Since her sprained ankle in 2013, Faith has had 11 covered claims – five in 2014, three in 2015, including one fracture wrist, one in 2016 and two in 2017.
Faith has been countless appointments at the hospital and physiotherapy sessions to counter the daily battle with pain and immobility.
The decision to reject their claim was made after two years of unsuccessful treatment, and now, more than four years later, Faith is still being treated for the same symptoms.
"ACC can not say that faith will come back when we look beyond the last five years," says Kitt.
"With all my heart I hope that she will do it and we can return to a normal lifestyle. Does VAC envisage anything in the long term – should it still five years old?
If the CRPS is not detected early, it can often be incurable and the intense pain causes such frustration, anxiety and depression.
It took more than six months for Faith be diagnosed and the disease spread to other parts of her body, forcing the once-crazy sports teenager to use crutches and a wheelchair – while taking a concoction of drugs against the daily pain
Effective treatment of CRPS is highly variable – children and adolescents tend to perform better than older adults – but no clinical study suggests that recovery is assured or not.
Dr Kieran Davis, Anesthetist Specialist Regulatory Service Ion Pain Pain (TARPS), said that a rapid diagnosis is essential to successful treatment because the patient gets into good physiotherapy early.
However, Davis, and other international medical authorities, agree that much more research is needed to understand the causes of CRPS, how it progresses, and the role of early treatment.
Research suggests a diagnosis within three months of the opportunity to beat him, he said.
According to a 2017 CRPS Australia survey, Kiwis with this disease report an average diagnosis time of 14 months.
Faith's difficult situation is familiar to Kiwis suffering from CRPS.
Believe that their pain or receiving misdiagnosis and initial treatment is a common feature in the discussions on the private Facebook page have suffered to support each other.
In February, Kitt insisted on a second assessment and ACC said in a statement "will be arranged once the paperwork is completed". He has not been told when this will happen.
"She had CRPS when she was nine and lost the last part of her childhood and lived with constant pain that can sometimes be extremely high and may drop in intensity but is still there. [19659007] had 11 injury claims that were the result of the first injury in five years is crazy and not a normal child's life. "
During his five-year test, Faith's confidence took a major hit as she begins to understand the enormity of "
" I miss sports and dancing, and doing things with my friends like any other normal teenager " , said Faith
O TO GET HELP
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* Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7)
* Service assistance in case of suicidal crisis: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24 hours a day, seven days a week)
* Youthline: 08 00 376 633 or text 234 (available 24/7) or [email protected] or live chat (between 7pm and 11pm) http://livechat.youthline.co.nz/mibew/chat?locale=en style = youthline
* Kidsline: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7)
* Whatsup: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm)
* Phone Support Service: 0800 111 757 (available 24 / 7) [19659007] * Samaritans 0800 726 666
* Healthline – 0800 611 116
* For more information on the assistance and services available to you, contact the Resource Service and free information from the Mental Health Foundation at 09 623 4812 during opening hours @ mentalhealth.org.nz.
CHRISTEL YARDLEY / STUFF
Since her diagnosis almost five years ago, Faith needs daily medication to manage her pain.
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