"To see the suffering in one, is worth finding a cure for all"
Important Update
It is with great disappointment that we confirm that this years’ Run 4 RSD has been cancelled due to a family emergency. Unfortunately, we will not have enough time to dedicate the resources necessary to have as successful event.
We would like to thank everyone for your continued support and response to helping raise awareness for this dreaded disease.
For those that have signed up, a full refund for your registration fee will be reimbursed to you.
If you are currently signed up on Facebook, please visit the Run 4 RSD page and “like” us, so we may be able to add more information and news, by having more likes associated to the page.
We look forward to seeing you at next years Run 4 RSD.
Run 4 RSD
We would like to thank everyone for your continued support and response to helping raise awareness for this dreaded disease.
For those that have signed up, a full refund for your registration fee will be reimbursed to you.
If you are currently signed up on Facebook, please visit the Run 4 RSD page and “like” us, so we may be able to add more information and news, by having more likes associated to the page.
We look forward to seeing you at next years Run 4 RSD.
Run 4 RSD
.Click on the image below to view photo's from
the 1st Annual RUN 4 RSD
Donna's Story
Hi, my name is Donna Braun. I've been married for 28 yrs, I have 3 amazing children, a fabulous daughter-in-law and I have RSD.
When I was told I was being tested for RSD I wasn't too concerned for 2 reasons. 1. I had never heard of it before, so I had no idea how devastating it was or would become. 2. My physio-therapist told me it was pretty rare.....rare things don't happen to me....RIGHT!?!?
That was 11 yrs ago & I've been fighting this disease ever since. Originally it started in my left hand from a simple bruise while playing volleyball, a sport which I had been playing for 14 yrs. Why this bruise was different we'll never know. It didn't take too long for the pain too spread throughout my arm into my shoulder and part of my back. 18 months after first being diagnosed I got my foot caught in a door and the bruise on my ankle turned into RSD in my foot, then up my leg and into my hip. Despite being on a cocktail of high doses of narcotics, anti-inflammatory and other pain killers multiple times a day, if I'm lucky it only takes the edge off and allows me to tolerate the constant pain. When I'm having a really bad day the pain spreads throughout my entire body, I can only sit quietly with soft pillows and hope it will soon end, but I can feel the vibration of every car that passes my house and the movement of the floor when someone walks past my chair. It feels like I'm being hit with a hammer rather than a light vibration. The only way I can avoid having a bad day is to not move too much to start with, every movement no matter how small increases the pain. Everything I used to take for granted, brushing my hair and teeth, putting on deodorant and getting dressed for example are not only painful but also exhausting. By time I'm finished getting ready to go out somewhere I'm in too much pain and too tired to want to go. Cold is my 'Kryptonite', it increases the pain to a much sharper and more intense pain, so I rarely leave the house from October to April. Damp rainy days and high humidity also increase the pain so I rarely leave the house from May to September! Air conditioning, being cold, is also very painful so if I do go out, I have to take a light blanket or sweater to protect myself from the cold.
McGill University did a study on pain, on a scale from 0 to 50, with 50 being the worst pain, they found that sprains were at 15, fractures and arthritis 18, child birth 32, chronic back pain and some cancers 24 and RSD was rated at 42..... yes....FORTY-TWO!
As well as the constant pain your muscles deteriorate and joints begin to seize up. The twist is, if you don't move, your body will freeze and then you can't move. If you do move your body hurts so bad you can't move!
As well as movement and weather increasing your pain, even a slight breeze hurts, any amount of touch....I can't even put my hand down on my lap because the pain will shoot up into my head so I carry a small soft pillow with me everywhere I go, I can't touch anything cold, metal (especially cold metal) If I eat out I have to wrap my cutlery with a napkin so the pain doesn't shoot into my head like a lightning bolt, even glossy magazines cause a strange and very intense pain. I can't let my fingers touch each other and the list goes on. The most frustrating though is clothing. There's so much that can go wrong with clothing, if the material is soft on the outside it's usually too rough on the inside (too rough on the outside is bad too!) even if the material is soft inside and out, quite often the threading is too rough or the seams are too thick. Finding clothes that don't hurt is extremely difficult and sometimes impossible, so I usually give up. It's hard enough getting to the mall, walking through it becomes unbearable pretty quickly and not being able to find something suitable is extremely frustrating. Then getting in and out of the car, people stare and quite often yell at me for being in a handi-cap parking space because they think I'm abusing the space. Just because you can't see my pain doesn't mean it's not there. I try my hardest to hide my pain, just because I'm smiling and my hair looks nice, doesn't mean I don't hurt....it's my way of dealing with the pain.....and trying not to let it win all of the time. Going out one day usually means a few days of rest to recuperate.
It's easy to understand why this disease has such a high rate of depression and suicide. This is just a small description, there's so much more to this disease......and nobody has ever heard of it. Even a lot of people working in the medical field haven't heard of this disease. We have very little hope of ever finding a cure if nobody is looking. That is why my family and I have decided to organize our first annual RUN4RSD. Every penny will be donated to PARC--Promoting Awareness of RSD and CRPS in Canada-- which is the ONLY charity in Canada for RSD!!! I need to give hope to those who have none. I need to promote awareness to those who have never heard of this disease, for the people being misdiagnosed and for the family's of those that have been diagnosed that don't understand. I want people to know what RSD is so when I'm asked why I have a pillow every where I go I can simply say...I have RSD and not have to go through a 20 minute explanation. I want.....I need a cure, not just for me but for the thousands like me suffering silently. For my family that has to watch me suffer knowing they can't do anything to ease my pain and for me so I can take care of my family again like I used to, instead of them taking care of me.
Thank you all for your support, for your interest in my story and for helping me in my fight against RSD.
Donna Braun
When I was told I was being tested for RSD I wasn't too concerned for 2 reasons. 1. I had never heard of it before, so I had no idea how devastating it was or would become. 2. My physio-therapist told me it was pretty rare.....rare things don't happen to me....RIGHT!?!?
That was 11 yrs ago & I've been fighting this disease ever since. Originally it started in my left hand from a simple bruise while playing volleyball, a sport which I had been playing for 14 yrs. Why this bruise was different we'll never know. It didn't take too long for the pain too spread throughout my arm into my shoulder and part of my back. 18 months after first being diagnosed I got my foot caught in a door and the bruise on my ankle turned into RSD in my foot, then up my leg and into my hip. Despite being on a cocktail of high doses of narcotics, anti-inflammatory and other pain killers multiple times a day, if I'm lucky it only takes the edge off and allows me to tolerate the constant pain. When I'm having a really bad day the pain spreads throughout my entire body, I can only sit quietly with soft pillows and hope it will soon end, but I can feel the vibration of every car that passes my house and the movement of the floor when someone walks past my chair. It feels like I'm being hit with a hammer rather than a light vibration. The only way I can avoid having a bad day is to not move too much to start with, every movement no matter how small increases the pain. Everything I used to take for granted, brushing my hair and teeth, putting on deodorant and getting dressed for example are not only painful but also exhausting. By time I'm finished getting ready to go out somewhere I'm in too much pain and too tired to want to go. Cold is my 'Kryptonite', it increases the pain to a much sharper and more intense pain, so I rarely leave the house from October to April. Damp rainy days and high humidity also increase the pain so I rarely leave the house from May to September! Air conditioning, being cold, is also very painful so if I do go out, I have to take a light blanket or sweater to protect myself from the cold.
McGill University did a study on pain, on a scale from 0 to 50, with 50 being the worst pain, they found that sprains were at 15, fractures and arthritis 18, child birth 32, chronic back pain and some cancers 24 and RSD was rated at 42..... yes....FORTY-TWO!
As well as the constant pain your muscles deteriorate and joints begin to seize up. The twist is, if you don't move, your body will freeze and then you can't move. If you do move your body hurts so bad you can't move!
As well as movement and weather increasing your pain, even a slight breeze hurts, any amount of touch....I can't even put my hand down on my lap because the pain will shoot up into my head so I carry a small soft pillow with me everywhere I go, I can't touch anything cold, metal (especially cold metal) If I eat out I have to wrap my cutlery with a napkin so the pain doesn't shoot into my head like a lightning bolt, even glossy magazines cause a strange and very intense pain. I can't let my fingers touch each other and the list goes on. The most frustrating though is clothing. There's so much that can go wrong with clothing, if the material is soft on the outside it's usually too rough on the inside (too rough on the outside is bad too!) even if the material is soft inside and out, quite often the threading is too rough or the seams are too thick. Finding clothes that don't hurt is extremely difficult and sometimes impossible, so I usually give up. It's hard enough getting to the mall, walking through it becomes unbearable pretty quickly and not being able to find something suitable is extremely frustrating. Then getting in and out of the car, people stare and quite often yell at me for being in a handi-cap parking space because they think I'm abusing the space. Just because you can't see my pain doesn't mean it's not there. I try my hardest to hide my pain, just because I'm smiling and my hair looks nice, doesn't mean I don't hurt....it's my way of dealing with the pain.....and trying not to let it win all of the time. Going out one day usually means a few days of rest to recuperate.
It's easy to understand why this disease has such a high rate of depression and suicide. This is just a small description, there's so much more to this disease......and nobody has ever heard of it. Even a lot of people working in the medical field haven't heard of this disease. We have very little hope of ever finding a cure if nobody is looking. That is why my family and I have decided to organize our first annual RUN4RSD. Every penny will be donated to PARC--Promoting Awareness of RSD and CRPS in Canada-- which is the ONLY charity in Canada for RSD!!! I need to give hope to those who have none. I need to promote awareness to those who have never heard of this disease, for the people being misdiagnosed and for the family's of those that have been diagnosed that don't understand. I want people to know what RSD is so when I'm asked why I have a pillow every where I go I can simply say...I have RSD and not have to go through a 20 minute explanation. I want.....I need a cure, not just for me but for the thousands like me suffering silently. For my family that has to watch me suffer knowing they can't do anything to ease my pain and for me so I can take care of my family again like I used to, instead of them taking care of me.
Thank you all for your support, for your interest in my story and for helping me in my fight against RSD.
Donna Braun