• November is RSD Aware-

ness month. Those who have

Complex Regional Pain Syn-

drome (CRPS), also known as

Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy

Syndrome (RSD). • Physicians do not know why

it develops or what causes it, but

CRPS is a nerve disorder that

usually occurs after a traumatic

injury, surgery, sprain, fracture, or

a period of immobilization. The

principal symptom is pain dra-

matically disproportionate to the

injury. • More than 140 years ago Dr.

Silas Weir Mitchell, a Union

Army surgeon, first described the

excruciating pain that we know as

CRPS. • CRPS can lead to disability. • We may look “healthy,” but

we often suffer unbearable, unre-

lenting, and burning nerve pain.

The McGill Pain Scale rates the

pain of people with CRPS higher

than that of people with cancer. Our skin may swell,

sweat, change colors,

change temperature,

or hurt to the slight-

est touch.

CRPS can spread.

• Often it is difficult for us

to sleep so we may have trou-

ble with attention and concen-

tration. • Many are frequently fol-

lowing a prescribed medication

regimen that usually involves

powerful drugs with many side

effects that may affect our

alertness or attentiveness. • It is often hard to move

easily or keep our body steady. • Chronic pain, like that

caused by CRPS, often leads to

depression because we un-

dergo significant, and often

negative, life changes. • We have good and bad

days; even hours. Stress in-

creases our pain. Presently, there is no cure for

CRPS. We should always

have hope because of the sup-

port of our family and friends

and ongoing research.

Fram Share And Make Aware

(SAMA) Flora DeKock

November is CRPS Awareness Month

Medical Updates— Pain Research

A new study by UK researchers

raises an intriguing question:

Does chronic pain change brain chemistry and make pain more

tolerable?

The answer is yes, according to a small study at the University

of Manchester. Researchers

there used Positron Emission Tomography imaging (PET

scans) to measure the spread of

opioid receptors in the brains of

17 arthritis sufferers and nine

healthy control subjects When they applied heat to the

skin of study participants to

induce pain, researchers found that the more opioid receptors

they had, the higher their ability

was to withstand pain. The number of opioid receptors was

highest in arthritis sufferers,

suggesting their brain chemistry had

changed in response to chronic pain.

By Pat Anzon

http://tinyurl.com/orwrhoz

Grover’s GrooveGrover’s GrooveGrover’s GrooveGrover’s Groove 2222

Laughter LinesLaughter LinesLaughter LinesLaughter Lines 2222

Spot LightSpot LightSpot LightSpot Light————Angels Making a DifferenceAngels Making a DifferenceAngels Making a DifferenceAngels Making a Difference 2,4, 52,4, 52,4, 52,4, 5

GratitudeGratitudeGratitudeGratitude 3333

Spiritual CornerSpiritual CornerSpiritual CornerSpiritual Corner 3333

Our RSD Family of SupportOur RSD Family of SupportOur RSD Family of SupportOur RSD Family of Support 3333

TreatmentTreatmentTreatmentTreatment 4444

Inside this issue:

RSD Angel Express

A.M. STYLES PRESENTS - W

INGS OF HOPE NOVEMBER EDITION

Volume 2 Issue 1

November 2015

RSD Fighter’s WallRSD Fighter’s WallRSD Fighter’s WallRSD Fighter’s Wall 4444–––– 5555

E.. I. (Emotional Intelligence)E.. I. (Emotional Intelligence)E.. I. (Emotional Intelligence)E.. I. (Emotional Intelligence) 5555

From R.A.E. Staff and SupportFrom R.A.E. Staff and SupportFrom R.A.E. Staff and SupportFrom R.A.E. Staff and Support 6666

Positive EmotionsPositive EmotionsPositive EmotionsPositive Emotions 6666

CalendarCalendarCalendarCalendar 7777

Reaching OutReaching OutReaching OutReaching Out 7777

Inside this issue:

RSD Doesn’t Own Me image

and read all over?" I replied with my stan-

dard "an embarrassed zebra" and was met

with a confused "OR a NEWSPAPER".

Yeah, the friend actually emphasized the

OR and the NEWS in newspaper. I confi-

dently advised her that newspaper did NOT

have color, so the entire joke

doesn't make sense... Very

slowly, the insight came, no

one had EVER bothered to

share with me before: "It's

read as in R-E-A-D not R-E-

D". The light bulb in my

head went off and all I could

do was laugh. Later, I told

my mom of my new epiphany and she

laughed as she lovingly replied "I always

assumed you understood it".

Jacki &Amber

EXTRA-EXTRA “READ ALL ABOUT

IT”

It's never too late to understand a childhood

joke. I consider myself to be fairly quick

witted, but I never knew why the answer to

"What's black and white and red all over"

was "newspaper". I avoided this joke by

responding with "an embarrassed zebra" all

of my life. That's right, for over 25 years I

have heard this joke and never really under-

stood it. And then a friend was talking

about her son's lack of joke skills and men-

tioned that one of the better ones he told

was the infamous "What's black and white

Where is Grover??? Last seen bring-

ing awareness for RSD by encourag-

ing others to wear and Color the

World Orange on November 2, 2015.

orange – a shirt, a bracelet or an aware-

ness ribbon – take a picture and post it

to social media using the hashtag:

#CRPSORANGEDAYCOLOR THE

WORLD ORANGE IS AN INDE-

PENDENT INITIATIVE FOUNDED

IN 2014. WE ARE NOT DOCTORS

AND DO NOT OFFER ANY TYPE

OF ADVICE. WE ARE NOT A NON-

PROFIT AND CAN'T ACCEPT DO-

NATIONS. PLEASE DO NOT COM-

MENT ON THIS PAGE. THANK

Color The World Orange is an

annual event held the first Monday of

November to spread awareness of

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

(CRPS), also known as Reflex Sympa-

thetic Dystrophy (RSD). It is a day for

the whole community to join together

and show that even though we are in

pain, we are strong!

There are many ways to get involved,

the easiest is by wearing one piece of

YOU.

http://www.colortheworldorange.com

Page 2

Laughter Lines—Stories to Make You Smile and Laugh

Grover’s Groove—

Spot Light—Angels Making A Difference—Color The World Orange

“Laughter is always the best

medicine. Laugh, live, love.”

RSD ANGEL EXPRESS

Where’s Grover? Have you

seen Grover?? Send us photos

of you with Grover and where

you last seen him (no worries

you can send in a photo with-

out Grover and we will add

his image to the photo)

So let’s have fun by sharing

your thoughts of where you

have seen Grover to bring

smiles and encouragement to

others. Send email to

a.m.styles247@gmail.com

RAE Staff and supports

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1

does become “NICE (Negating Irre-

sponsibility Consciously Evolving” to a

new level of oneness. Many will brush

the truth aside because it isn’t the

“Truth” they want to see or know. I

have heard that a closed mind learns

nothing more than reading a closed

book. One must open up their mind in

order to learn. Open the book of life to

open one’s mind and watch how life

becomes limitless. Will you be “NICE”

in order to evolve into what the Spirits

have put inside of you or will you be

“NOT NICE” for the sake of being

stubborn and feeding your EGO so that

you have a false sense of control?

Choose wisely for your decisions will

determine what will come.

A.M. Styles

Negating Irresponsibility Consciously

Evolving

It is “NICE” to pretend that something

doesn’t exist or pretending we don’t

understand what is right before us. But

is it really “NICE” to avoid that which

we know deep inside to be reality? Of-

ten we choose to act like it doesn’t af-

fect us or it’s not real. When you take

the time to take responsibility in ac-

knowledging the “TRUTH” then it

We are pleased to announce and list the different individu-

als who set out to bring RSD Awareness to the areas that

they live. So if you live in or know someone who lives in

these areas make sure to let them know there are :”Fighters”

making a difference for all who suffer from RSD.

Nebraska - We are excited to announce another proclama-

tion – this time from the state of Nebraska! Thank you to

Theresa for your hard work in obtaining the proclamation,

which declared Nov. 3 as the first annual CRPS awareness

day to "Color The World Orange." Great job Theresa and

thank you Nebraska!

Tennessee - We are excited to announce another proclama-

tion – this time from the state of Tennessee! Thank you to

Peggy for your hard work in obtaining the proclamation,

which names Nov. 3 CRPS/RSD awareness day. Great job

Peggy and thank you Tennessee!

Illinois - We are so excited to announce that the State of

Illinois has named Nov. 3 Complex Regional Pain Syn-

drome Awareness Day! Thank you to Nikki for all of your

hard work in obtaining this proclamation and thank you to

the state of Illinois for recognizing Color The World Orange

day in the proclamation!

North Carolina - We are so excited to share a great event

coming up on Nov. 2 in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Fight

the Flame 5K to be held in McAlpine Creek Park. For more

information on how to sign up for the race or to donate,

please visit the event’s website:

http://www.fighttheflame5k.org/

To celebrate the event, Beth, one of the organizers, ob-

tained a proclamation from the city of Charlotte naming

Nov. 2 Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Awareness Day!

Thank you to everyone in Charlotte for the amazing job of

spreading awareness of CRPS!

New York - We are so excited to announce another proc-

lamation - this time from the Town of Oyster Bay in New

York, which named Nov. 3 as RSD/CRPS awareness day!

Thank you to Jennie for your hard work!

Michigan - We are excited to announce another proclama-

tion -- this one from the state of Michigan naming Nov. 3

as RSD/CRPS Awareness day. Thank you to John for his

hard work.

Texas - We are excited to announce another proclamation

-- this one from Humble, Texas naming November as

CRPS awareness month! Thanks to Amy for her hard

work! We are so excited to announce that the Governor of

Texas, Greg Abbott, has granted an official recognition

naming Nov. 2, 2015 Color The World Orange™ Day!

Thank you to Jennifer for your hard work to make this

happen!

Delaware - We are so excited to announce that the Mayor

and the Council of Middletown, Delaware has granted a

proclamation naming November 2015 CRPS/RSD Aware-

ness Month and Nov. 2, 2015 Color The World Orange

Day!

Thank you Denice for your hard work to make this hap-

pen!

Arizona - Thank you to the Governor of Arizona Douglas

Ducey for issuing a proclamation naming Nov. 2, 2015

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Awareness Day! Thank

you Kary for your hard work to make this happen!

Connecticut -

Thank you to the state of Connecticut for the Official

Statement recognizing Nov. 2, 2015 as Color The World

Orange™ day! Thank you to Jenny-Lynn and Pauline for

your hard work to make this happen!!

New Hampshire - We are so excited to announce that the

city of Keene, New Hampshire has granted a proclamation

naming Nov. 2, 2015 Color The World Orange™ day!

Thank you to Jenny-Lynn and Pauline for your hard work

to make this happen!

Florida - We are so excited to announce that Manatee

County Florida issued a proclamation naming Nov. 2, 2015

Color The World Orange™ day! Thank you Merrie for

your hard work to make this happen!

Louisiana - Thank you to the Mayor of Leesville, Louisi-

ana for the proclamation naming Nov. 2, 2015 Color The

World Orange™ Day! Thank you LeenGail for your hard

work to make this happen!

Virginia - We are excited to announce that the Governor

of Virginia Terry McAuliffe has granted a Certificate of

Recognition naming Nov. 2 Color The World Orange™

day! Thank you to Nancy for your hard work to make this

happen!

South Dakota - We are excited to announce that the Gov-

ernor of South Dakota Dennis Daugaard has granted a

proclamation naming November 2015 Complex Regional

Pain Syndrome Month. Thank you Jane for your hard work

to make this happen.

services including phone support, Skype

support, house calls, records and medica-

tions management, insurance guidance,

treatment consulting, and a variety of other

options. You are not alone!

We are constantly striving to spread aware-

ness of chronic pain disorders and diseases.

We are also working very hard to pass laws

to recognize and protect the silently suffer-

ing community.

Gracie Gean is a well-established

advocate with a reputation for integrity and

authenticity. What separates her from the

rest is her commitment to the people she

represents and her innovative style in find-

ing ways to overcome challenges put in her

path. Gracie Gean is fully HIPAA/HITECH

CERTIFIED, so you can be completely

confident that your information is safe and

secure with her!

Gracie is providing a variety of advocacy

Submission by Gracie Gean

http://www.ggpainadvocacy.com/home.html

Page 3

Spiritual Corner -

Gratitude—Proclaiming a New World One Signature at a Time

Our RSD Family of Support— Gracie Gean Pain Advocacy

Rich Garcia took the time to personally

make and mail out Orange Ribbons to cele-

brate CRPS/RSD Awareness month for

those in his support group in Texas. He

funded this solely and asked for nothing in

return but to help bring awareness. Many

people in the support group asked to have a

ribbon shipped to them. We at RAE Thank

him for bringing awareness and acknowl-

edging that a strong support system can

help bring awareness to so many others that

seek hope.

Submitted by Andre Duncan

Nicole Hemmenway. - Along my jour-

ney of RSD, I have met some spectacular

pain warriors! I am blessed to have met

Nicole Hemmenway. She is a warrior in

the truest sense of the word showing it is

possible to balance health, work and rais-

ing a family. She was diagnosed with

RSD during high school, underwent

many procedures and treatments and also

wrote a book chronicling her story. This

book, No, It Is NOT In My Head: The

Journey of a Chronic Pain Survivor from

Wheelchair to Marathon, gave me the

hope I needed to not feel as alone in my

own journey and inspired me to reach for

the stars.

Nicole overcame many obstacles to

achieve her goals and did it with a posi-

tive attitude. She shows that it is possible

to continue to live a fulfilling life with a

painful condition. After she completed

her marathon, Nicole continued to reach

out to other pain patients by became an

advocate and motivational speaker. The

Invisible Project with the U.S. Pain Foun-

dation is just one example of how she

continues to inspire patients on the pain

journey.

As Vice-President of U.S. Pain Founda-

tion, Nicole continues to educate health-

care professionals, patients and families

alike. She continues to be an inspiration

as she balances her work with the pain

community and her family life showing

others that you can accomplish anything

that you put your mind to.

http://www.nicolehemmenway.com

http://www.invisibleproject.org

Submitted by Jaclyn Drexel

When a person develops CRPS their

world caves. They feel as though they

are gone. But that person rises up

through their eternal fire and become

stronger then they ever thought they

could be.

As a community we have fire burning

everyday. We struggle, cry, and get

angry. But as a community we become

strong and help each other

Brie submitted the following poem for

this issue of RSD Angel Express.

When there is a fire in the Great Out-

doors it can take down the biggest tree.

But in the aftermath a sapling grows.

When a home catches on fire it leaves

pain behind and treasured items gone.

But that home is rebuilt and the treas-

ured memories

live on in our hearts.

Rise Up Through The Fire

Page 4

RSD Fighter’s Wall—Rich Garcia Orange Ribbon Awareness

Spot Light Part 2 —Angels Making A Difference Nicole Hemmenway

RSD Fighter’s Wall—Breanne Ramos

RSD ANGEL EXPRESS

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1

am doing this for those that want/need a

voice of compassion, a listening heart, and

most of all someone who understands the

emotional ups and downs of life. This is

“IT!” Time to rebuild “IT”, reclaim “IT”,

rewrite “IT”, relive “IT”, redo “IT”, but

most of all knowing that “IT” is within you

to do “IT.” So please join me in claiming

“This is IT!”

You can share with others his book which

can be found on the link below or on ama-

zonfor eBook or physical book.

http://tinyurl.com/nvass6b A.M. Styles started a blogtalkradio show

called “This is I.T. (Inconvenient Truth)!!

to go along with his new book of the same

title. The radio show is a chance for people

who suffer from CRPS/RSD to call in and

express their thoughts, feelings, and experi-

ences while dealing with the disease. Along

with hearing from callers and guest speak-

ers A.M. Styles also encourages others to

remember to fight. You can find his show

on blogtalkradio.com and search for AM-

Styles247.

This is “IT”!!!! No more making excuses

for what we all may feel from time to time. I

Jerry Paul Pond has been one of those peo-

ple in the community who despite all of his

battles has been a rock hidden deep within

the bayou. Random communications can be

had by his friends offering encouragement,

finding self-peace, and offering a hand

without even offering one. I’ve been

blessed with passages in my Facebook mail

box since 2010, when I first started to find

my path to finding myself again from Jerry.

I know many others have been blessed with

messages from him. And I asked if we

could feature him for this generosity. This

is the first message I ever got from me.

Many more have followed.

“Happy Monday - Monday morning comes

clapping, laughing smiling and love and

wakes us up with endless possibilities!

Monday morning is the cute animals who

are always there for you after playing with

Saturday and Sunday. Monday morning is

full of energy and wants to do a million

things to make the world a better place!

Reach out and give the well needed Monday

Morning Smile. So put on a happy face!

Monday morning has come! So please have

yourself a happy Monday Smile and let the

world smile back at you I hope you had a

great weekend! Hope you had very low pain

and stress and fun Love you Sending you

Cajun hugs and love Your Cajun brother

Smile, laugh, be happy and have some fun

Smile and the world will see it:>).”

Thank you Jerry for the many, many times

you helped the stars shine when I thought

that the world had gone dark.

Submitted by Flora DeKock

(conference call free to callers) to possi-

bly talk to others across the world. So if

this is something that you think maybe

something you would like to be a part of

let us know by emailing us at

a.m.styles247@gmail.com or on the

rsdom.org website.

Currently at R.A.E. (RSD Angel Express)

we are working on other ways to bring

others together to communicate with fel-

low RSD sufferers. We know there are

group meetings and online chats that take

place. We have heard from some who

find it difficult to participate in these

activities because of limitations. Well we

would like to have our readers feedback

on possibly setting up a phone bridge

If you or anyone would like to be on the

emailing list please send an email to

a.m.styles247@gmail.

Page 5

RSD Fighter’s Wall—A. M. Styles “This is I.T. (Inconvenient Truth)!!!”

Spot Light Part 3 —Angels Making A Difference

Jerry Paul Pond

Just an Idea— From R.A.E. Staff and Support System

So what makes music so effective at making us

feel better? The research has often drawn on

theories around how nerve impulses in the central nervous system are affected by our thought proc-

esses and emotions. Anything that distracts us

from pain may reduce the extent to which we focus on it, and music may be particularly power-

ful in this regard. The beauty is that once we

understand how music relates to pain, we have the potential to treat ourselves.

Music attracts and holds our attention and is

emotionally engaging, particularly if our relation-ship with the piece is strong. Our favourite music

is likely to have stronger positive effects than

tracks we don’t like or know. Researchers have demonstrated that the music we prefer has greater

positive effects on pain tolerance and perception,

reduces anxiety and increases feelings of control over pain. In older people with dementia, listen-

ing to preferred music has been linked with de-

creasing agitated behaviour.

Alongside the benefits of listening to what you

prefer, the nature of the music has also been

shown to be important in enhancing how emo-tionally engaging it is for patients. Recent re-

search has demonstrated this in relation to dy-

namics, brightness, arousal levels and other acoustic attributes. Music which is bright, with

low intensity and slower tempo has been shown

to have the most positive effect on the degree of

pain that we experience, for example.

From website “The Conversations.”

http://tinyurl.com/op6kbd6

As the 17th-century English playwright William

Congreve said: “Music has charms to soothe a

savage breast.” It is known that listening to music can significantly enhance our health and general

feelings of well-being.

An important and growing area of research con-cerns how music helps to mitigate pain and its

negative effects. Music has been shown to reduce

anxiety, fear, depression, pain-related distress and blood pressure. It has been found to lower pain-

intensity levels and reduce the opioid requirements

of patients with post-operative pain.

Music has helped children undergoing numerous

medical and dental procedures. And it has been demonstrated to work in a variety of other clinical

settings such as palliative care, paediatrics, surgery

and anaesthesia.

Page 6

How Music Can Help Fight Chronic Pain

Wall of Proclamations—Color The World Orange

RSD ANGEL EXPRESS

Thank you all for helping bring

RSD Awareness in the different

areas that you may live in. With-

out you none of this would be

possible..

The RSD Angel Express is a publication designed to bring awareness to CRPS/RSD

Disease. It is the creation of several RSD Administrators from different support groups in

hopes of sharing stories, medication information, and giving a voice to many who may feel

they are not being heard. Please share this newsletter freely. It will be published quarterly

and may also have interim “special editions” to highlight different events taking place

within the CRPS/RSD Community. For more information, conduct a search for different

support groups and/or non-profit organizations. We are NOT medical, legal, or nutri-

tional professionals and will not give advice on those subjects. Please Consult Profes-

sionals in those areas. We are here to provide support and education.

If you want to submit ideas or stories please email to a.m.styles247@gmail.com.

Many times we often go to the doctor to sit and listen to

what they have to say about whatever is wrong with us.

How often have you stopped the doctor from rushing you in

and out of his office to explain to her/him what it is that you

are feeling? Being that so many in the medical profession

don’t know or understand our condition we must follow

through by educating them on “Our” bodies and less on

what is common/normal for those who don’t suffer from

CRPS/RSD. If your doctor(s) are not able to help you or see

that you need additional help please make sure to let it be

known what it is that you are feeling. Also ask for referrals

if the doctor is unable to help you control your pain or any

other problems that you feel may not being addressed to

help you. The key to awareness is letting it be known not

only to others but also to medical staff so that way the next

person they come across may be treated differently. Not all

doctors or medical facilities are trained to look or notice

things that we seem to experience and see on a daily basis.

So being this is RSD Awareness Month help bring aware-

ness to medical professionals by letting it be known. Maybe

one day it will help those who travel the same road as

us later in life.

RAE Staff and Supporters.

Reaching Out— Speak From Within Let it Be Known

Up Coming Schedule of Events

• November—RSD Awareness Month

• Nov. 1—This is I.T, (Inconvenient

Truth)!! eBook release on amazon

• Nov 2—Color the World Orange

• Nov. 7—ConquerPain 1 Step At A

Time

• RSD Doesn’t Own Me—Weekly chat

6PM CST to 8PM CST—Http://

www.rcdom.org/chat

• This is I.T. (Inconvenient Truth)!!

Podcast Every Monday 7PM CST –

9PM CST—blogtalkradio.com/

amstyes247

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 Color the World Orange

3 4 5 6 • 7 Con-

quer

Pain

8 9 10 11 11 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30

November 2015