My story
I was diagnosed with CRMO when I was about 9. Since they were worried it was cancer I didn’t get to know much at all. It affected my knees and I remember lying to my doctors at the age of 9 it was only one of my knees so they would believe me. They found 2 lesions on my right knee and 1 on my left. For a while after my diagnosis it didn’t affect me much. I have always been a huge swimmer to help with my EDS. It didn’t affect my sport for a while. I was one of the top swimmers on my team in my age group. I was humbled quickly with my shoulder pain. Again it was 2 lesions in one 1 in the other. I sat out a lot more and my coaches told me to swim it off. It destroyed me mentally to be treated the way I was. I had only 2 coaches on my team who understood what was going out despite explaining it over and over again. After covid I went to my club practices on occasion but quit during my high school swim season because I got lesions on both sides of my pelvic bone. I continue to swim on my highschool team and I’m currently coaching a summer team. Outside of being a student athlete. Most days I struggle to walk more than a block. I often use mobility aids like wheelchairs and crutches. I don’t want this story to be completely depressing and it’s not. reading through the CRMO # I see that a lot of you are parents. I promise it’s not all bad. I’ve been inspired to persue a career in health care to help kids with chronic pain and conditions. This world is not built for us but with a support group it is something that is easy to cope with. If someone you care about struggles with CRMO make sure to not push them to hard. We know our bodies limits. Tip: Fruits are great foods for inflammation- genuinely have been a life saver for me! #ChronicRecurrentMultifocalOstomyelitis