Congratulations Mrs.Carmon!!
The drawing for the Pontiac G5 was held today at Scranton Motors in Vernon, CT.
The winner is Christina Carmon, a 5th grade teacher at Windsor Locks Elementary School. She resides with her husband Jay and 17 month old daughter in Suffield, CT. When asked how she felt she reply, "I am shocked, I have never won anything before."
Thank you to all those who supported Mary by purchasing raffle tickets. Your efforts are greatly appreciated .
Thank You for visiting Mary's Wish
Our mission at Mary's Wish is to acquire ideas, insight, advice and support from the viewers of the maryswish.com as well as provide information pertaining to Mary and the latest developments about her condition.
Mary is suffering from a rare neurological disorder, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). This is a severely debilitating and painful disease characterized by: chronic sharp and burning pain; swelling, redness and discoloration of the limbs; paralysis; intense muscle spasms; allodynia, extreme sensitivity to any touch or breeze; softening of bones; severe depression; and, in some cases, skin ulcers.
As a child, Mary's recovery time from normal childhood injuries was far from normal sometimes taking as long as two months to recover from falling on her knee during soccer practice. Much of Mary's childhood was spent on crutches otherwise, Mary was a normal child. At the age of sixteen, Mary was actively involved in the Fire Department Explorers, taking care of horses, attending a vocational agricultural high school, and working on getting her driver's license. Although she still had medical issues, such as TMJ which prevented her from opening her mouth for almost a year, doctors had not linked her succession of injuries or diagnosed her with RSD.
In September 2005, Mary woke up unable to move her right leg and in severe pain – doctors then confirmed the diagnosis of RSD. Soon after, she was unable to move her left leg. She was no longer able to attend school, was in constant pain, and could find no relief. For two years, Mary saw many, many doctors, had numerous procedures and tests, was prescribed over 100 medications, and was hospitalized frequently including three months in a rehabilitation hospital – none of which helped relieve her pain or alleviate her condition. Despite all of this, Mary still graduated high school last spring through sheer determination and just two hours of tutoring a week!
Shortly after this celebration, the RSD spread to both of her arms. This August, Mary was rushed to the emergency room with “seizure-like activity” and was in Intensive Care for two weeks. It has since been determined that this “activity” was, indeed, severe convulsions associated with RSD. Upon discharge from the hospital, Mary was flown to Tampa, Florida to see Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, a leading international researcher of RSD. She spent two weeks in Florida consulting with him and it was determined that the only course of treatment available to her now is Ketamine Coma Therapy, a clinical trial procedure that is being conducted in Monterrey, Mexico. During this procedure, Mary will be put into a coma for seven days during which time her brain will “reset” itself so that her nervous system sends appropriate signals to her brain. Upon making the decision to go forward with this therapy, Mary said “Scary is knowing that I'm never going to walk again... I would rather try the coma therapy than live with this pain.” While there is indeed some risk associated with this treatment, many patients with severe RSD like Mary's have had success.
This is the only course of treatment available to Mary as all other known treatments have not been effective on full-body RSD. Mary's RSD continues to spread and now affects her head and neck - the urgency for Mary to receive this treatment is increasing.
This is Mary's only wish right now – to be rid of the pain and to be able to move again. Mary is tentatively scheduled to go to Mexico sometime between mid-October and mid-November. As you can imagine, U.S insurance does not cover the cost of this procedure or her transportation. Mary's Wish is committed to raising $200,000 to cover treatment, travel and medical expenses as well as to secure her place in the trial.
We also encourage you to explore the growing resources pertaining to RSD and engage in the community by posting to the community message board and commenting on journal entries.
On behalf of our family and all who will benefit from Mary's experience, we thank you and appreciate your support.
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), is a chronic progressive neurological condition that affects skin, muscles, joints, and bones. Pain may begin in one area or limb and then spread to other limbs. RSD/CRPS is characterized by various degrees of burning pain, excessive sweating, swelling, and extreme sensitivity to touch.