Wishaw teen Kiera smiles through rare pain disorder

Apr 6 2011 by Euan McLelland, Wishaw Press

A 17-YEAR-OLD Wishaw girl is raising cash – in a bid to find a cure for a rare pain disorder which leaves her in near-constant agony.

Drama student Kiera Ward was 11 years old when she suffered a broken foot in a tug-of-war accident.

Because she couldn’t get immediate treatment, Kiera has developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a condition which left the lower part of her left leg in permanent pain, despite the break having fully healed.

Six years on, and Kiera’s brain refuses to accept the recovery process and sends signals that she feels pain in her lower leg.

Last summer Kiera’s illness spread to her upper torso, meaning she now had to endure full-body pain so intense she sometimes can’t sleep properly.

However, student Kiera attends Motherwell College wearing a brave face, hiding the extent of her pain which often reduces her to tears.

On Saturday, she organised a fundraising walk round Strathclyde Park and raised over £600 in aid of Yorkhill Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow.

Kiera and her mum Jacqui explained how crippling her disorder is.

Jacqui said: “CRPS can start with even just a small knock or a bad break. The pain of the injury gradually gets worse and gets locked in the brain, so as well as the injury sending the pain up to the brain, the brain sends it back down. The injury has healed, but the brain keeps saying it’s sore.

“I am always sore, always in pain,” said Kiera. “I can touch my leg, but I can’t let anyone else touch it. I freak out and end up in tears.”

For three weeks last summer she attended Bath Royal Hospital to try to correct her walk as she wasn’t putting any weight on her leg. However, that’s when the condition spread to her hips, shoulders, back and neck.

Doctors have admitted that, at present, Kiera’s condition cannot be cured. She takes 39 tablets a day to help reduce the pain.

“She looks fine today. But you don’t know what’s going on in her head,” said mum Jacqui. “The brain is constantly sending these pain signals down.”

Kiera continued: “I’m up most hours because I’m in that much pain. It’s a horrible feeling, anytime I’m touched below my left knee it’s like a stabbing pain. It can go red hot to ice cold and can go purple and blue.

“I’ve not been able to wash my own hair since August. If I go for a driving lesson it can be that sore I’m in bed for two days after it.

“I used to do cross country running, Irish dancing and horse riding, but can’t do them now.

“I do get really upset by it. Friday is my favourite day at college because I get singing in the morning and dance in the afternoon, both of which I absolutely love. But I hate it when I go along to dance and just can’t do it.”

Kiera’s sponsored walk round Strathclyde Park raised over £600 for Yorkhill Hospital, where she was treated for five years.

She has a whole host of fundraisers in the pipeline and urges anyone willing to donate any amount of money to go to her Just Giving page, at http://www.justgiving.com/Kiera-Ward.