Intro

Hi! My name is Hannah and this is my boyfriend Dan. I was diagnosed with CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) almost 3 years ago to the day. It has changed my life beyond recognition. I was an active, motivated, determined person and I had my mind set on only one thing, being a successful chef. All was well for a while and I managed to carry on working and living in London until I started getting ulcers on my affected right foot. The ulcers have changed everything for me, I was no longer able to pretend that everything was alright. I had to stop working in the kitchens which destroyed me as it was my one massive passion. I hope one day I will graduate and be able to return but right now I realise this is not possible. 

I decided to start a blog to help other sufferers, particularly those who are a similar age to myself, my friends and family understand better what life is like when you have CRPS. I understand how isolating and lonely it can be to be diagnosed with CRPS, especially when you are young and all of your friends are busy running around doing things and you're not able to keep up. But people need to realise that it doesn't have to control your life and there is always something you can do and succeed at. You just have to find it. I found this quote and for me it is absolutely perfect: 'Just because the past didn't turn out how you wanted it to, doesn't mean your future can't be better than you ever imagined.' Since I've started wheelchair racing and hand-cycling and since meeting Dan, my outlook has changed a lot. I now feel so happy and content even though I would never have imagined I would be in the position I am now. I am so grateful for all the support I have received in the past few months and it really has changed everything for me. Before this I was really struggling, I felt as though I had let people down or not lived up to expectations, even ones I set for myself but now I feel as though I have a purpose again. Whenever we train, I feel so good afterwards, I feel proud of what I have achieved so far and have big goals for the future. I want to give hope to other sufferers, so people realise that even though they may be really struggling now, it doesn't always have to be like that. Don't let CRPS rule you and destroy your life, try and turn it around into something positive and you might just be surprised, I certainly was! 

Thank you for reading! More to follow soon! xx