Sophie has been left with one of the most painful medical conditions
A number of times throughout the day, Sophie Cole looks down to her left hand to check that it hasn’t been burnt off. She’s in so much pain, she often feels that it’s on fire. “It feels like it is in flames at the same time as being torn with a cheese grater. I frequently check if it’s still there as it feels like it’s been burnt off me,” says Sophie, 32, from Cork.
“Then there is a feeling of electric shocks shooting up the arm, as well as a heaviness and deadness. Being in that much agony constantly causes migraines too. I’ve been told I will never be free of pain.”
Sophie’s painb stems from an assault in 2022 when Sophie leant down to the floor to clear up some spilled water while working as a Special Needs teacher. “I knelt beside a child, put my hand on the table to balance myself, and when I did that my hand was grabbed and slammed into a steel table. In that moment, my life changed as I knew it,” she says.
Following the incident, for which she does not hold the child responsible , Sophie was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is considered one of the most painful conditions known to medicine. It ranks higher than childbirth on the McGill pain scale and has been described as ‘the suicide disease’ due to its extreme and unrelenting nature.
Sophie has been left permanently disabled and with her life irrevocably changed. She can no longer drive or work, and spends much of her time travelling around the country attending hospital appointments, visiting different doctors and consultants in the hope of reducing the pain.
She has been told the condition could spread throughout her body. The financial impact has also been significant. Sophie had to give up work and now relies on invalidity payments. Receiving confirmation that she is permanently unfit for work was heartbreaking.
“To receive a letter in the post that states you are permanently unfit for work in your thirties is devastating. But I remain hopeful that new treatments will be developed that could help,” she says. Sophie has lost count of the treatments she has undergone, including nerve blocks, nerve burnings, surgeries, spinal cord stimulation and platelet-rich plasma transfusions.
However, many of these interventions come with risks. “There is no known cure, so everything is trial and error. I have had numerous treatments and nerve blocks, but so much just causes more agonising pain. Every surgery and procedure can cause it to flare further. It’s horrendous.”
She has contemplated amputation, but doctors say this may not end the constant physical pain. Sophie also experiences secondary symptoms including exhaustion, brain fog and post-traumatic stress disorder. She struggles to sleep due to both the pain and PTSD, adding to the daily toll of the condition.
Sophie has also had to give up many of the activities she once loved, including artistic hobbies and exercise such as running, CrossFit and swimming, and has lost the communities of friends she made through keeping fit. Despite everything, Sophie is now preparing for a new chapter, as she and husband Shane expect their first baby.
But even this new development has not been straight forward. Sophie had been taking ketamine and opioids regularly to manage her pain, but had to come off these medications in preparation for pregnancy – a process that required carefully balanced withdrawal with ongoing severe pain.
“We are really excited and we are looking forward to having some sort of a life back. It’s been such a hellish few years. We are planning prams and car seats, but have to look carefully for things that can be operated one-handed,” she says.
Now, she is calling for better support for teachers working with children with Special Educational Needs (SEND), so that others do not face similar life-altering consequences. It is really important that people understand I don’t blame the student for what happened to me. And while it was terrible, I am not the only one. Ninety six per cent of teachers in Special schools and classes have suffered an assault. It is prevalent.
“This is what they are facing on a daily basis. The resources aren’t there, the staffing isn’t there, the supports aren’t there for our students. And that’s why we’re seeing these behaviours. The only thing that will prevent these assaults is more funding and better resources.”
