‘It turned my life opposite’: 12-year-old shares how broken foot turned into a painful lifelong disease

LITTLE RIVER, S.C. (WMBF) - Lexi Schmidt was only in the third grade when someone kicked and broke her foot. Now, she’s living with an incurable disease that causes her extreme pain.

After the accident, 12-year-old Schmidt said she knew something was wrong when doctors eventually removed her boot and she was still in constant pain. That’s when doctors diagnosed her with Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome known as CRPS.

CRPS is a chronic disease that typically develops after prolonged inflammation usually after an injury or surgery.

“When I was first diagnosed, I thought everything was gonna be over,” Schmidt said. “I was never my normal self how I used to be, so it kind of turned my life opposite.”

Schmidt said the pain travels from her foot, up her leg and describes it as sharp, throbbing and aching.

CRPS ranks more than 40 out of 50 on the Mcgill Pain Scale outranking childbirth and the amputation of a limb.

Schmidt said the pain usually gets worse when it’s colder outside, so her family moved from New York to the Grand Strand.

She said those living with CRPS look normal on the outside, so it’s important to show compassion on days when the pain is hard to bear.

“Some days when I have pain in school my friends want me to do all these things, but when I tell them I can’t, it’s hard for me and also hard for them when they want to do something,” Schmidt said. “So, always be patient and let them take their time.”

Schmidt said it was hard when she was first diagnosed, but she has dreams of playing lacrosse at Boston College. She encourages others living with the disease to keep pushing forward.

“Never give up and always try your best to go through it,” Schmidt said. “Sometimes I know it’s going to be really hard to go through it some days, but once you get past a day, you know you’re gonna be able to get past months and years.”

Monday is “Color the World Orange Day” to spread awareness for CRPS.

The Myrtle Beach SkyWheel will light up orange at around 4 p.m on Monday.

Schmidt encourages everyone including those living with the disease to join.

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