'It feels like your bones are being crushed': Former football player battles chronic pain

Just a couple of years ago, Jarrett Seck was a defensive linebacker for the Regina Thunder and was studying at the University of Regina to become a physiotherapist.

Now, the 22-year-old is living his life bedridden and in constant, debilitating pain. But the former football player hopes to find relief, and a GoFundMe page that has raised nearly $26,000 in donations for treatment may be his key to a less painful future.

Jarrett suffers from a chronic disease known as complex regional pain syndrome, a condition that affects the nervous system. It usually affects one limb after an injury but it can spread to other areas of the body.

"It feels like your bones are being crushed, muscles are being torn off your limbs … sometimes it feels like your body is just all on fire," said Jarrett.

It all started in September 2015 with a knee injury while Jarrett was playing with the Regina Thunder.

"As time went by, it just never seemed to heal," said Jarrett.

No relief

Six months later, the pain skyrocketed. He started feeling tingling in his foot, shooting pain, and he couldn't wiggle his toes. Soon after, he was unable to walk.

It wasn't clear why Jarrett wasn't healing and the pain was only getting worse.

"Everything looked normal, but it wasn't normal. Not having an answer really put a toll on me both mentally and physically," said Jarrett.

He was diagnosed with the rare condition in December 2016. The pain has now spread to his other leg and his left arm. Ever since, he's been bedridden and paralyzed in three of his limbs.

On a scale of one to 10, Jarrett says he sits at an 11 or 12 when it comes to pain.

"It's heartbreaking. I remember when I was 22 and the things I got to do, and he's 22 and he can't do any of it. So it's been hard," said David Seck, Jarrett's father.

Jarrett said he tries to distract himself from the excruciating pain, but he's now isolated from everything he used to be able to enjoy, like football and school.

"We as a family, we're hoping for the next thing to help out, and in the last year everything's just kind of gone backwards. We never really see anything positive going forward," said David.

In July, Jarrett had a neuromodulator surgically implanted to block the signals of pain through his nervous system. In August, doctors implanted a pain pump — a pump implanted under the skin which delivers medication through a catheter — in hopes of allowing Jarrett some relief.

"He's still not responding," said David.

As a family, we have a sense of helplessness.- Brooklynn Seck, Jarrett's sister

Seck's friend and former Thunder teammate Nathan Fortin said it's shocking to see Jarrett, who once was so physical and active, now unable to move.

"He's a young man. It's crazy to see something get ripped away like that at such a young age," said Fortin.

"He's not meant to be sitting in a bed. I couldn't imagine what it's like to be in pain 24/7," said Jarrett's sister, Brooklynn.

"As a family, we have a sense of helplessness."

Moving forward

The GoFundMe page is to fund a trip to the U.S. for treatment not available in Canada, as the family has exhausted all options at home in Regina. The family is raising funds to have Jarrett receive treatment at the Neurological Relief Centre in Arkansas, a facility that aims to holistically treat people with chronic pain disorders.

The page has raised nearly $26,000 in seven days, and the aim is to raise $81,000.

Although there is no cure for the disease, the family hopes Jarrett will be able to have his pain reduced to a manageable level so he can regain his quality of life.

"Maybe if the pain goes down, maybe other things start turning back on again. We want to see him walk again and be able to have some semblance of a normal life," said David.

Jarrett sees his current battle just like another game on the football field: he must persevere every day to do his best. His friends and former Thunder teammates have stayed by his side throughout.

"I kind of get to live it out through watching them play," said Jarrett.

"Every time they win, I feel like I'm still winning too."