“Hi, I’m Chloe. I’d like to help raise awareness for a condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, CRPS, or used to be known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, #RSD. I was diagnosed with this in 2014 after a bad sporting injury was misdiagnosed. It flipped my world upside down. I went from someone who worked out all the time, too being unable to walk for over a year. I was in so much pain! I lost myself in every way possible mentally, emotional, physically, & spiritually. My own doctors at the time barely knew about this condition, which didn’t make it easy to explain to anyone else. Being that I was in my senior year of college at the same time, I struggled to keep up. I was in so much pain, on very strong medications, & was struggling to even understand my own diagnosis. I had a choice to quit & risk not ever getting the degree that I worked so hard for, or to push on for one more year. I chose to push on, not even knowing if I would be able to work in that same field anymore. I’m glad I did even though it was very tough & draining. I learned a lot. The number one lesson, which sounds cheesy, is to never give up even if all hope is lost. If a doctor tells you they can’t help you, then you find one that can. If it hurts, get up. If you want to quit, you don’t. A doctor once told me he would rather I have been 91 yrs old getting this condition, that way I wouldn’t have to live with it long, unlike being 21 yrs old like I was. That was the moment I realized how bad it was. This condition did take a lot from me, & still could take more, but I refuse to let it beat me down. I’m hopeful that a cure will come in the future, but until then, I’m a #CRPSSurvivor. That is why I wear orange. Orange is the color for CRPS & to wear to me means I’m stronger than I know. Don’t give up hope. Have faith that you DO have the strength to keep going. I’m now 27 and can say I’m doing better than I was at 21. I’m very grateful for my friends and family who helped me get to this point because I could not have done this alone. CRPS is an invisible illness & is very misunderstood. Spreading awareness for it means to hopefully find a cure for it, one day.” @oh_its_chlobo