For her birthday today, this CRPS “warrior” that once sobbed in pain because the sound of rain made her feet hurt, has given herself the perfect gift: she can now stand and recently walked completely unassisted, even without the walker she had been relying on for the past few weeks.
PE Express previously reported about Heather Botha, a former gymnast and dancer from Westering, who was wheelchair-bound and in constant agonising pain due to a condition called central regional pain syndrome.
CRPS is a chronic pain condition that is described as worse than childbirth or amputation and affects one or more parts of the body usually after an injury. Heather and her family managed to raise just enough funds for her to receive treatment at the Spero Clinic in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in the USA, under the leadership of South African-born physician, Dr Katinka van der Merwe.
Before Heather and her mother, Hayleigh, left South Africa for Arkansas in January this year, her main source of pain was sound and she mostly felt pain in her feet, midsection, jaw, chest and left arm. Heather’s feet were also brown and flaky and it seemed as if they had been badly burnt, which is exactly how she described her pain: a burning sensation as if she was on fire.
Today, Heather turns 15 years old and can look forward to the start of a new life as a carefree teenager since her pain had slowly come down from a 9/10 to a steady 6/10 for a while and now stands at 4/10.
“She practised getting up out of a chair and then jumped up and did a funny little dance with one of her therapists and then she walked. She walked and sat down on her own and as she sat down she said her pain is at a 4 out of 10!” Hayleigh explained excitedly.
As her pain levels started to drop, the brown flakiness on her feet disappeared and she can now even wear slippers and place her feet in water, something that she wasn’t able to do before.
She even recently went to a drive-in movie theatre and sound was not an issue, whereas she couldn’t even stand the sound of a bird chirping before.
It was also a very emotional moment for both mother and daughter when Heather moved her legs with the help of doctors and physical therapists at the clinic for the first time.
“She couldn’t even move a toe before this; I can’t believe this,” Hayleigh said in tears.
During the next few sessions, Heather practised standing up and has progressed very well.
“She is doing amazingly with her walking abilities. It’s really hard for her after being bedridden for so long, but this child is a fighter and pushes through like someone who is running a marathon. Her gastroparesis is much better; there’s about 50% improvement and she is eating plenty more and proper meals.
“She recently also went to church for the first time in two years. Although she could not stay for the full service, she managed to attend our teens lesson group and the first part of the main service. This is a huge step for someone who has been bedridden for so long,” Hayleigh said.
During a previous interview, Heather said that she was feeling very negative and had no hope that the treatment would help, but now, several months later, the teen whose face previously lit up only when she saw her dog, Feebi, now can’t stop smiling.
“I was in shock when I started standing and walking with the walker and in this one video you can hear me saying: ‘I’m walking, I’m walking’,” Heather said excitedly.
“I cannot wait to go back to school. I’m currently doing home schooling but I’ve always loved school and I’ve missed all the crucial years.
“I really can’t wait to go back,” she said.
