Swimming for Emily, brother taking on English Channel to help against sister’s incurable condition

Emily Ozanne has CRPS, nicknamed the Suicide Disease

It’s called the Suicide Disease. 

It’s so painful, those who have it … well, you can figure it out.

Medically, what La Crosse’s Emily Ozanne has is called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), categorized as the world’s most painful disease, according to the McGill Pain Scale.

The 27-year-old was diagnosed with it following knee surgery in December – a condition she cannot take medication for and, so far, does not have a cure and has left doctors baffled.

Now, her younger brother Jeff Ozanne of Sparta, Wis., is doing anything he can to help, even if that means enduring some pain, himself.

Jeff, 24, will be swimming the English Channel next week. It pales in comparison to what his sister has to go through on an everyday basis, but the 14-hour, 26-mile swim in temperatures hovering around 60 degrees will be nothing short of painful.

He’s started a GoFundMe to help raise money and awarness for his sister, to offset living and medical expenses.

“Your nerves are sending false signals to your brain, telling your brain that it has pain when there shouldn’t be pain,” Jeff said, describing what Emily is going through. “Tells her mind that her body gets hot. Her body makes it cooler, so (her operated knee has) been 20 degrees colder than the other leg for eight months.”

With no cure and no medications, Emily has is burdened with experimental treatments, which have come at a huge financial burden. On top of that, CRPS has rendered her unable to work, while dealing with other complications, including bearing the full burden of living and treatment costs.

So, the goal for the GoFundMe is $40,000. Right now, they’re just over $7,000.

Other ways to donate include through any Wells Fargo Bank to the account Swim4Emily. You can also easily donate through PayPal through the email: [email protected].