What it is About - The Book

What it is about

Sunny Says

“The first part of the book is, like a diary, written in chronological order as the CRPS developed and the painful symptoms began not only to affect my hand, but my elbow and eventually my shoulder.

Scattered throughout are wobbly drawings done with my uninjured left hand. I am right handed. When I began to draw pictures to illustrate what was happening to me, I found it fascinating how uninhibited my left hand was once I didn't expect it to have the same style as the right.

I embarked, with the kind financial assistance of my friends, on a quest to find therapies which would help to alleviate the pain and maintain a holistic approach. The withering effects of the CRPS affected my posture and that became a strong pre-occupation. I was determined not to allow my whole body to twist into a protective stance, which would create a whole new set of problems.

I was curious as to what might be happening under my skin and found looking at anatomical drawings really helpful. I have included some and they really are fascinating and help trace the paths of the painful symptoms. I hope the readers will find them as beautiful and as interesting as I do.

For a dramatic finale I had a fall and broke both my wrists (very embarrassing), but I managed to ward off the hideous CRPS with my new knowledge.

The book lists all the Therapies which I was able to access. Each one in their own way helped me to finally overcome the CRPS. I found it important to include some background to those therapies, to try and demonstrate how they were all conceived with the idea of healing the whole person. They pay as much attention to the psychological effects of the illness as they do to the physical.

The Contact section gives details of Organisations who list Registered Practitioners in the UK for all the above Therapies. It includes useful contacts like the British Association of Occupational Therapists and College of Occupational Therapists (BAOT COT), The Pain Relief Foundation, Arthritis Research UK and many others.

With the kind permission of various authors there is a section which lists some of the symptoms of CRPS and suggested treatments.

Finally, there is a Historical Reference section where the founders of the various disciplines are profiled and there are other relevant historical pieces. I found this an important section, because it demonstrates the history behind the various Practices and testifies to the fact that they are well established and tried and tested over many, many years.