Education:
Evidence In Motion
Fellow of Pain Science
May 2024
EIM/Purdue University
Therapeutic Pain Specialist
January 2022
East Tennessee State University
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Class of 2020
University of Central Missouri
Master of Science - Exercise Physiology
Class of 2017
University of Central Missouri
Bachelor of Science - Biology
Class of 2015
My Story:
A little over 10 years ago, I made the decision to transfer to The University of Central Missouri with the intentions of playing collegiate football. I moved down in June 2013 and had an individual tryout with a few coaches. Shortly after my tryout, I herniated my L5-S1 vertebral disc, ending my football career.
I traveled home to Iowa to have surgery with a local doctor. 10 days after my surgery I developed a continuous and unrelenting pain in the lower portion of my left leg. I was told by my surgeon it was normal, but it only got worse. I was sent to have a cortisone injection to try and find relief. Unfortunately, the pain only intensified. It progressed to the point that I couldn't wear a sock on my left foot. I was sent to two local neurologists who diagnosed me with a chronic pain condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).
I remember the look on their faces when they diagnosed me. They were writing me off. I was given bottle upon bottle of pills- Vicodin, OxyContin, Lyrica, Nucynta, antidepressants, sleep aids, and more. On top of the pills, I was given an appointment 2 years away at a center for CRPS treatment. I spent the next 6 months deteriorating. I lost 45 pounds and all my strength. My life consisted of lying on a couch and taking nearly 30 pills a day. I slept in my father's bed at night because I was afraid to be alone. Waking up every hour in agony. As time passed, the pain increased, spreading up my leg and eventually into my thigh. I used a walker to help me get around and if my leg or foot touched anything I would nearly cry. I was living in hell, a hell that I could not escape, trapped inside a body that was failing me.
Then it happened; I was leaning on my kitchen counter and attempting to drink some orange juice when I lost my balance and fell to the floor. Lying there home alone I began to cry. I remember thinking about ending it. What kind of life was this? Living dependent on medication, unable to do anything I truly loved. It was then that I made the decision to stand up. In that moment, I chose not to let the pain win.
The one thing my doctors didn't know was that I had felt many forms of pain in my life- from the gradual deterioration of my mother due to cancer, to the self-destruction of my older brother during his battle with alcoholism. I became familiar with pain early on and now this pain in my leg would become my power. I made the choice to help myself, spending up to 10 hours a day working on my body and mind.
Today, I stand before you completely independent. I no longer feel pain every day and have returned to the life I love. For the last 8 years I focused my academics on the study of pain. I completed a Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology and then went on to complete a Doctorate in Physical Therapy.
I used my time as a physical therapy student to master my craft and after completing my degree I had another 3 years of pain training. Becoming a Therapeutic Pain Specialist (TPS) and a Fellow of Pain Science. I now practice as a Chronic Pain Specialist with the idea in my mind that there are others out there like me. That there are people who need my help and that the quality of my help will be determined by my level of understanding.
It is only with this type of passion that I can explain why I chose the career. I can honestly say I’ve walked through hell. While I was there, I grabbed some of the flames and lit a torch for myself. I intend to use this same torch to light the way for others, leading them to a life free from pain.