S2E2 〜 Miller Kerr's CRPS story: from playground injury to healing through dance & Burning Hope

In this episode, I'm joined by Miller Kerr. Miller got CRPS when she was 10 years old, from a knee to the thigh during a basketball game at recess. What should have been a bruise that faded in a week stayed. For six months, doctors called it a deep contusion, handed her crutches, and wondered quietly if she just wanted attention. Then her therapist finally figured out it was CRPS. And after a failed nerve block and a children's hospital that sent her home after a few days, her mum went full mama bear and got her into the Cleveland Clinic, a holistic program that got her walking again in six weeks. Back home in Dallas, Miller hid her CRPS for eight years. A single dance class turned into both her physical therapy and the place she finally stopped performing "fine." When she told her college teammates the truth at 18, they didn't doubt her. They reframed CRPS as her strength, and that shift changed everything. Today Miller runs Burning Hope, a nonprofit raising money for CRPS research and awareness so the next person who Googles complex regional pain syndrome doesn't find only darkness. We recorded this across two continents, me in Spain, Miller in Texas. We talk about: Getting CRPS at 10 from a playground injury and the six months nobody could name it Being doubted by doctors as a kid and what that does to you The Cleveland Clinic's holistic approach: OT, swimming, mind-body skills, and the lesson on acceptance What CRPS actually feels like, Miller's curling iron metaphor Hiding chronic pain for eight years so no one would look at you differently Finding dance and how it became both physical therapy and a reason to keep going Telling her college teammates the truth and the shift from weakness to strength Building your own pain scale instead of using the one in doctor's offices Starting Burning Hope, the 3K Walk Walk Strong, and the Blanket Project The fear of whether someone will love you with this part of your life What she'd tell her 10-year-old self This episode is for anyone living with CRPS, complex regional pain syndrome, chronic pain, or chronic illness, or anyone carrying a story they've never felt safe enough to share yet. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and how we connected 01:40 Who Miller was before CRPS 03:15 The playground injury and six months without a diagnosis 09:40 Getting the CRPS diagnosis 14:10 Getting into the Cleveland Clinic 1 6:17 Six weeks at the Cleveland Clinic and what actually helped 25:05 What is CRPS 29:42 Finding dance and hiding CRPS for eight years 35:08 Telling her teammates the truth and the mindset shift 41:09 How Miller's doing now and building your own pain scale 47:58 Burning Hope, the Blanket Project and what's next 56:06 What Miller would tell her 10-year-old self Please find more of Miller on: Instagram & Facebook: @millerckerr Burning Hope: http://www.burninghope.org Burning Hope on Instagram: @burninghopecrps If this resonates, I'd love for you to leave a review, share it with someone who needs it, or send me a DM on Instagram.