How Contact Care changed our lives
Hi, I am Dan's partner Natasha. Dan and I discovered Contact C.A.R.E® amidst a complicated story about our daughter's Jaz’s health.
Jaz was 14 years old and had a history of CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome). She had one episode in her arm at age 12 and another in her ankle and knee a few months later. These were successfully treated with visits to a Neuro-linguistic Programming practitioner and following that she was in remission for a year and had a good first year at high school.
After that, we started to notice that all was not well with our girl. She developed abdominal pain and severe depression and had a lot of issues with her skin. One day Dan decided to take her out go-karting to cheer her up. On the second lap of the course he was behind her and watched as she lost control of the kart and hit a pole at full speed. Her head hit the steering wheel and then the steering wheel slipped into the helmet hitting her cheekbone.
She suffered a concussion but had no broken bones. Both eyes were shut for 3 days, one didn't open for 5 weeks. After a few hours in hospital she was discharged home. She had extreme head and jaw pain, couldn't open her mouth and stayed on the sofa for days, with us feeding her baby food.
Her recovery was very slow, and we returned to hospital twice for further checks and a CT scan which was clear. Exactly a month later she suddenly developed CRPS in her lower back and quickly lost the ability to hold herself up and then to walk. She also developed dystonia (involuntary muscle spasms) in her body which was excruciatingly painful and traumatising. She was admitted to hospital as we could no longer move her.
In hospital various pain medications took only the slightest edge off the pain at best. The dystonia episodes got worse and we had to use icepacks on her legs in order to stop the spasms. One terrible night after an episode she lost her ability to speak. She regained it it in a broken stuttery way over the next day or so, and eventually it returned to normal. This would recur with any severe dystonia episodes. She also started blacking out (losing consciousness) on a regular basis, often several times a day. This could be in response to her body being moved, or any kind of stress such as coughing.
We desperately researched everything we could about CRPS and Dan found this:
CRPS: A Different Approach Extended with Philip Getson . We realised that even when Jaz was in remission from CRPS the underlying issues were all still there just waiting to start up again.
After a couple of weeks at the local hospital she was transferred to the children's hospital in the central city into the care of the Complex Pain Team. They diagnosed her with Central Neural Sensitisation Syndrome which is the next step up from CRPS, where the condition is no longer regional but has taken over the entire nervous system. She experienced indescribable pain, the highest level of pain on the pain scale. There was no pain medication that could help her and all the pain team could offer was intensive physical rehab which involved even more extreme pain and blackouts. Jaz was very suicidal and had absolutely no will to live or sense of future.
There are no words to describe how we felt. We were utterly desperate. One day a colleague gave Dan a number and said "you need to call this guy". The number was for Contact C.A.R.E® in Ngatea.
Dan rang and talked to Dale Speedy, the founder of this practice, and finally something made sense. However at that stage it was impossible to transport Jaz to him. While she was still in hospital Dan decided to do a ConTact C.A.R.E weekend foundation course, hoping to be able to help her himself in time.
After 7 weeks in hospital Jaz was discharged with minimal improvement, she was now home for us to care for her 24/7, along with a wheelchair and a commode. She was still completely unable to stand, walk or even move her legs. A couple of weeks later the dystonia episodes and blackouts got worse and started to affect her swallowing and breathing. She could only suck on frozen baby food and frozen juice iceblocks for sustenance. The situation was becoming even more desperate
We decided to find a way to take her to see Dale Speedy and made a booking. It was a huge logistical mission just to get her into the car and we were late for the appointment, but we made it. Dale came out and treated Jaz in the car. She felt completely safe with him and we watched the stress drain from her face as the session progressed.
We drove home with a completely different child than the one we'd arrived with. The blackouts and dystonia stopped straight away and she could breathe and swallow normally. She gained a small amount of movement in her toes and, legs and a significant reduction in her pain. She still had a long road ahead of her, but the corner had been turned.
Dan continued his training in ConTact C.A.R.E and rapidly gained confidence in using the practice. He worked on Jaz at home and over time she continued to progress, initially learning to stand again then walk with a walker, and 3 weeks after her visit to Dale she took her first steps unaided. All CRPS symptoms were gone and now it was just a matter of rebuilding strength and muscle. Aside from ConTact C.A.R.E. her only therapy was re-engaging in daily life at her own pace. She was not seen by any physio or other medical therapist.
Four months after her visit to Dale Speedy Jaz had such good mobility she was able to water-ski! A small relapse of CRPS a few months later after falling and hurting her knee was resolved in 3 weeks with ConTact C.A.R.E. A few months later Jaz got her first job as a barista in a busy city cafe. She was finally living a normal life as a thriving young person and no longer living in fear of a relapse. We were astounded and delighted at this wonderful outcome!
About 2 1/2 years later at the age of 18 Jaz experienced a partial hip-dislocation and developed severe gastro-intestinal symptoms. This lead to a diagnosis of Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that apparently underlies many cases of CRPS. At her worst she could not eat or drink and had to go to hospital for rehydration. Once again ConTact C.A.R.E proved invaluable. She also started doing Pilates to strengthen and stabilise her joints. She found Pilates so helpful she decided to train to be an instructor, and completed her training in 2022.
Jaz now has a busy job as a Pilates instructor and is doing extremely well! We are immensely grateful for the role that ConTact C.A.R.E has played in her miraculous recovery.
Dan finds his own ConTact C.A.R.E practice extremely rewarding. From Jaz’s experience he knows that CRPS sufferers are often extremely wary of any new treatment, medication or person. This is absolutely justifiable given the pain they have suffered along with often extremely painful and/or ineffective treatments, and often experiencing invalidation and patronising treatment. After witnessing what our daughter went through and supporting her through it we understand and have absolute compassion for the trauma, stress and physical and emotional suffering that people with CRPS experience. I find it incredibly heartwarming when Dan comes home from sessions with people enduring CRPS, speaking of the changes they are experiencing from ConTact C.A.R.E. It makes it all worth it.
Natasha D.
(partner of Dan Willdridge)
