The camp nurse did not send her to the emergency room. Marsha felt worse the next afternoon and went to see her family internist, who gave her a tetanus shot. A few days later Marsha began graduate school at NYU. Due to her deep leg wounds, she had to take a cab and borrow crutches to get to her classes. She had always been an overachiever and honor student, but within a few weeks she had stopped participating in class discussions and taking notes. She and her professors were worried.

Marsha saw a neurologist, who was concerned about her scattered demeanor and forgetfulness, but was more disturbed by the 90-degree contracture of her left knee. For the next five months, Marsha visited specialists and underwent diagnostic tests that all came back negative. Most doctors discounted her pain and discredited her symptoms, saying it was all in her head.

Fortunately, her neurologist recognized that it was uncharacteristic for an active and educated 22-year-old woman to fake such severe symptoms. Finally, in January 2004, he proposed a diagnosis of RSD.

RSD is a neurological and chronic pain disorder that affects the skin, muscles, joints, bones, and, in severe cases, internal organs. Although relieved to have a diagnosis, Marsha continued to face new symptoms and problems. The hair on her left leg grew less, her toenails became brittle, her quadriceps and calf muscles began to atrophy, and her left knee contracture progressively worsened. The burning, stabbing and shooting pain and dull aches and spasms intensified as the coldness and red/blue color of her leg became more noticeable.

Then things got worse. A week after her diagnosis, Marsha was in taxicab accident that caused severe back and neck pain. Several months later, she developed fibromyalgia, a syndrome characterized by pain, tenderness and stiffness of the muscles, ligaments and tendons. Marsha’s back, neck, shoulders, arms and chest ached from deep muscular pain accompanied by fatigue.

In April 2004, she was hospitalized for twelve days when her body seemed to freeze from a severe pain episode. Since then, her RSD symptoms have spread throughout her body, including some organs. She needs to use a wheelchair. She has skin sensitivities and dryness; has light, sound and tactile sensory issues; and has gained ninety pounds due to swelling, inflammation and inactivity. She has difficulty regulating her body temperature; her legs are always cold, while her upper body overheats and sweats profusely. She has also developed an arrhythmia, since the nerve signals being sent to her heart are misfiring.

RSD affects Marsha's hands, legs, feet, mouth and eyes. She suffers from headaches and the burning sensation constantly feels as if someone doused her with lighter fluid, lit a match and started an enormous bonfire. Other times, she feels pain that she describes as "electric". Her bones ache due to osteoporosis caused by the RSD and, because her lungs are inflamed, she breaths irregularly.

Marsha has undergone a multitude of treatments and medications to little or no avail. She has tried Botox to release her knee contracture, epidural and lumbar nerve blocks for pain relief, biofeedback therapy, physical and occupational therapy, and two spinal cord stimulator implantations. While none of these therapies brought her consistent or considerable relief, she has found relaxation techniques to be helpful. In February 2010, Marsha underwent a three-week inpatient ketamine infusion. Ketamine infusion is a controversial new therapy for RSD patients where a ketamine IV is administered at an escalating dose while monitoring the patient's vital signs and level of consciousness. Although the treatment did not produce the desired outcome, Marsha is considering trying a ketamine coma, a medically induced coma that is used so extremely high dosages of ketamine can be administered. The treatment is risky and not well understood, but if there is a chance she could reduce her pain or achieve remission, she feels she must take that chance.

Although RSD has changed Marsha's life, she refuses to give up her dreams. Only three months before her injury, she graduated summa cum laude and planned to earn a Ph.D. in education. With help from her NYU professors, Marsha has completed many of her graduate courses and believes that, with proper cognitive therapy, she can conquer her cognitive deficits and obtain her Master’s degree. "Most people would have long given up on their dreams. Perhaps I am stubborn… or perhaps I am the eternal dreamer. All I know is that someday, somehow, I will attain my aspirations."

Marsha has also found new outlets for her shining spirit and endless drive. She volunteers at a hospital gift shop, works with disabled children, mentors college students at CUNY Lehman College, teaches a beading class to senior citizens in her neighborhood.

On a mission to raise awareness, Marsha serves on the advisory boards for CT Pain Foundation and RSD-CRPS LifeSavers, and is co-administrator of the first RSD Facebook support group, "RSD aka Really Sucks Dystrophy." She is grateful to the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association (RSDSA), which was the first organization to reach out to her with hope, tools and resources to continue moving forward. For the past two years, Marsha has been co-chair for Team RSDSA at the Achilles Foundation's annual Walk for Hope and Possibility (a major fundraiser for the RSDSA), and she founded the RSDSA Causes page, which has raised nearly $5,000 for RSD research. Other organizations that inspire Marsha are Rock Out to Knock Out RSD, Triumph Over Pain, and USC Quench the Fire Run. Through these outlets, Marsha connects with people of all ages living with RSD, helping them find meaning and productivity in their own journeys.

Marsha's family has played an instrumental role in her recovery and outlook, especially her dad, who passed away in 1991 from cancer. He taught her how to deal with life's problems while helping others. Through his entire illness, he genuinely smile and laughed, and he strived to live life to the fullest.