Introduction

My name is Katie Nello. I am the daughter of Richard Nello and Shirley Inman Shea, step daughter of Rick Shea. I am currently 22 years old. I attended Brandywine High School where I played volleyball and was very active. I played travel volleyball for a team in NJ as well, and am an assistant volleyball coach at Dickinson HS. My goal is to become a Medical Assistant and to work with RSD patients. I have a wonderful family that includes two older brothers Justin and Joshua Wilkers and their wives Juliet and Kristyn, a brother Danny who attends Salesianum, a step sister Stephanie who without her support I would be lost, and a step brother Brendan; a senior at Saint Marks. My grandmother has stood by my side through all of this and never gave up on me. The help and support of my boyfriend Joel Ladzinski is surpassed by none. He has given up so much for me throughout this and has never turned back on me. Although from the outside looking in, it appears that my life has been that of a typical girl growing up, it has been everything but. I have been hospitalized numerous times since I was 15, home schooled for much of my junior and senior years of high school, and have been unable to finish college or to maintain a job.

I am suffering from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), a serverly debilitating and painful neuromuscular disorder. I suffer daily with constant sharp, stabbing and burning pain; throughout my body; severe headaches; some paralysis; intense muscle spasms; sensitivity to touch (allodynia); extreme sensitivity to light and sound; excessive sweating; swelling; fevers; softening of bones; and painful skin ulcers. The pain is constant and unrelenting. My disease has affected my kidneys, my heart and my GI tract. I have gastro paresis and suffer infections because of it. My bladder is no longer functioning properly as well. There is no cure for my disease. Remission is what I seek. Because of the significant involvement of my RSD, basic plan management treatments will not stop the cycle that my body is in. The treatment plan for me is not covered by my insurance. It involves the use of ketamine, an analgesic drug which has been used for anesthesia for many years. The use of ketamine for RSD is still considered an "off label" use even after many studies. This treatment is my only hope. Thanks to everyone helping me to get these treatments.