Fundraiser launched for Carlisle boy with chronic pain

Brendan Brown, 11, was playing football for Carlisle Reivers when he fell and broke his ankle nine months ago, as his coach, Amy Hickson, explained: “He loves football.

“He just went over on his ankle.

“We were having a warm-up before the game when it happened and he wanted to go on.

“He’s on the autistic spectrum so he struggles to understand things sometimes.”

Amy said this was why he was determined to go on, and sadly he couldn’t.

She started the fundraiser with his mum, Hayley Greig, to raise money for a trip to America.

The trip is for specialist treatment for the syndrome, CRPS, which Brendan got as a result of his ankle breaking.

Hayley explained: “I’ve been trying to find the specialist care but no one [in Britain] can do anything.”

She said the care for CRPS in the UK is mainly for adults and finding it for children is very difficult and arduous, but in America, the knowledge is more advanced and there is more availability – yet it is costly.

Hayley is a single mother who works part-time and is Brendan’s carer, so she needs the help of the public to fund this mission.

Hayley described how Brendan is feeling: “It’s been horrendous.

“His skin is ice cold to the touch and swollen.”

Photos showing the discolouration of Brendan's skin and swelling

Brendan is taking amitriptyline, a strong pain killer usually meant for adults, but it just numbs the pain slightly, Hayley said, due to the severe amount he’s experiencing.

She added: “He has flare-ups and it makes the pain 100 times worse.

“He was an active child and it’s all been taken away from him.

“You can imagine the pain he has just from crutches on his hands.

“His mental health is declining so much, he wants to cut his foot off, he told me he doesn’t want to live anymore.

“I’ve lost my happy little boy, he’s depressed now.”

She said he has barely touched the ground since the injury, and putting weight on his ankle causes intense pain.

Hayley added: “Cumbria doesn’t have a specialist pain clinic, he needs a pain consultant and a psychologist, as well as a physical therapist.

“This can help put him into remission.

“Nine months of not walking and being in pain would send anyone into despair.

“I want him back smiling and I believe America is the only way forward.”

To donate to the fundraiser, click here.