Follow my Blog for ongoing treatment and post-treatment updates for Functional Popliteal Artery Entrapment Syndrome (fPAES) and Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome (CECS)
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If this blog is helpful, please consider donating to my GoFundMe to help offset our debt and pay for further treatments! Thank You!
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Hello! My name is Caitlyn; Welcome to my website and blog!
I have been documenting my running fairly consistently since 2008 in many different outlets. I started running in 1998, and was pretty good at it right from the start. I ran all through high school and college competing at the National level. I was even inducted into both Hall of Fames for my performances. Through it all I always battled with lower leg injuries which I was able to manage with modified and conservative training. I started up a blog again even after blogs lost popularity, because I find they are the easiest to navigate as time passes. I blogged my entire second pregnancy to chronicle the experience and normalize training and exercising through pregnancy.
After the birth of my second child I set a goal of qualifying for the Olympic Trials. I started documenting each week here and week after week, month after month, year after year, things just weren't going right. Fast forward to April of 2021, after years of unsuccessful treatments and rehab, I traveled halfway across the country during the Pandemic to get the answers I was seeking. I was diagnosed with Moderate to Severe Functional Popliteal Artery Entrapment Syndrome as well as Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome. These diagnosis's are mostly viewed as separate, but I'm hoping my blog can help clear up misconceptions, especially for anyone that is trying to crack the code on their own experience with chronic lower leg "injuries"; maybe I can speed up the process. I saw the only Doctor in the world treating this rare condition in a very specific manner with Botox instead of aggressive and often unsuccessful surgeries. As of July 2021 symptoms are improving and I'm waiting patiently to document my first successful run.
What began as a blog hoping to document my journey to an Olympic Trials Qualifying time became a blog documenting my journey to this diagnosis and navigating treatment so that others will have an easier time than I did. I also hope to turn a corner and put my focus towards running goals again, and see just how successful I can be after a devastating and life altering diagnosis... however, after all these years, my priorities have shifted, I've learned that I am so much more than just a time on the clock, and I'm looking forward to living a full life with my husband Matthew, and my two daughters Raea and Maebel, without the pain in my legs that I have been experiencing to some degree since my early teenage years, and I finally understand it....
I have been documenting my running fairly consistently since 2008 in many different outlets. I started running in 1998, and was pretty good at it right from the start. I ran all through high school and college competing at the National level. I was even inducted into both Hall of Fames for my performances. Through it all I always battled with lower leg injuries which I was able to manage with modified and conservative training. I started up a blog again even after blogs lost popularity, because I find they are the easiest to navigate as time passes. I blogged my entire second pregnancy to chronicle the experience and normalize training and exercising through pregnancy.
After the birth of my second child I set a goal of qualifying for the Olympic Trials. I started documenting each week here and week after week, month after month, year after year, things just weren't going right. Fast forward to April of 2021, after years of unsuccessful treatments and rehab, I traveled halfway across the country during the Pandemic to get the answers I was seeking. I was diagnosed with Moderate to Severe Functional Popliteal Artery Entrapment Syndrome as well as Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome. These diagnosis's are mostly viewed as separate, but I'm hoping my blog can help clear up misconceptions, especially for anyone that is trying to crack the code on their own experience with chronic lower leg "injuries"; maybe I can speed up the process. I saw the only Doctor in the world treating this rare condition in a very specific manner with Botox instead of aggressive and often unsuccessful surgeries. As of July 2021 symptoms are improving and I'm waiting patiently to document my first successful run.
What began as a blog hoping to document my journey to an Olympic Trials Qualifying time became a blog documenting my journey to this diagnosis and navigating treatment so that others will have an easier time than I did. I also hope to turn a corner and put my focus towards running goals again, and see just how successful I can be after a devastating and life altering diagnosis... however, after all these years, my priorities have shifted, I've learned that I am so much more than just a time on the clock, and I'm looking forward to living a full life with my husband Matthew, and my two daughters Raea and Maebel, without the pain in my legs that I have been experiencing to some degree since my early teenage years, and I finally understand it....