These were the words that started a nightmare for my husband and for our family.  A world of change, misunderstanding, isolation and disbelief that will continue indefinitely has begun for us.  We have done research and hope to relay some information for those suffering with this condition and for the friends and family with loved ones battling it.   Our biggest hope is to give some understanding.  My husband is Bob, I am Melody, and our children are Stacey and Drew.  Here you will find our story..............

  Since Bob has been off work (mid-January 1998) we have felt very alone and isolated from others.  People typically don't understand and many don't try.  And for those who do try, there is limited easily accessible information out there.  Our attempt with this page will be to tell it as we live it... not just from Bob's perspective but from that of the whole family.  And to also provide some more information for those who want to learn about life with this horribly painful condition.

        We have found some really informative sites on the internet.. and we will list these on this site.  We also had some info come into our hands that we likely wouldn't have really taken a good look at under normal circumstances.I went down to the office of our internet provider to pay my internet bill at the end of May (1998), and the people there knew that Bob had been off work. They asked how he was doing now.  We got talking and I tried to explain about RSD.  You can imagine my surprise when they actually knew what I was trying to explain!!!  RSD and CRPS are really not very well known even among the medical community let alone someone with limited medical knowledge.  Anyway, today the person I was talking to that day brought me a magazine.  It was a back issue of an AWAKE magazine.  I'm sure that you have heard of it.  It's put out by the Jehovah's Witnesses and handed out on street corners all over the world.  We are not Jehovah's Witnesses and we are very happy with our faith, but the article in this magazine brought my husband to tears.  He finally felt like someone else really knew what he is living with day in and day out.  It wasn't sugar-coated or a death sentence, but an understanding with a word of hope.  Hope we hadn't felt much in the previous six months.  I will be using this magazine article that was published in the September 8, 1997 issue for reference as well as the sites listed below.