Appeal sees thousands raised for teacher living with 'world's most painful condition' after school incident
Sophie Cole says she 'lost her life as she knew it' following the incident
The family of a Cork special needs assistant left in 'persistent, excruciating pain' after an incident in the classroom, have started a fundraiser to help her manage her condition.
Sophie Cole suffers from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) - dubbed 'the world's most painful condition' - after she was injured while cleaning up a water spill at work in 2022, reports Cork Beo.
During the incident, her arm was slammed down onto a steel-reinforced table, causing permanent nerve damage. Her rare syndrome has rendered her unable to use her left hand and she is in constant pain, which she describes as feeling like 'someone forcibly holding her hand into an extremely hot fire while rubbing it back and forth over a really large cheese grater'.
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Sophie said she 'lost her life as she knew it' following the incident, which happened just over two years ago. She has since been unable to drive or even shower or prepare food independently, and has given up many of the hobbies she enjoyed before the incident.
The Cork woman has also been out of work since her injury, but emphasises that the children aren't to blame. Instead, she's highlighted the 'lack of access to multidisciplinary teams and services' in schools, which Sophie believes is contributing significantly to the number of injuries suffered by SNAs in Irish classrooms.
She explained: "Complex regional pain syndrome is known as the world's most painful and incurable condition. It's a chronic pain disorder that affects your nervous system, and nothing at all can touch off my left hand. I suffer excruciating, burning pain, electric shocks, shooting pain. I scream with the pain daily."
"I lost my independence. There's so many times when I rely on someone else to cut up my food or even shower me. I lost a lot of my social life, my ability to sleep and of course, the big one here because this is what we're campaigning for, I lost my income," she revealed on the Neil Prendeville Show on Cork's Red FM.
Sophie was receiving a weekly illness benefit of €220 after her injury but now faces the possibility of losing this crucial financial support.
On her GoFundMe page, a friend detailed how she has been turned down for invalidity pension and is challenging this decision. Meanwhile, it could be a 17-week wait without any income.
She recounted her surprise at finding out about her leave's limitation. "I was told that I was going out on leave and that was fine and I was oblivious to it having an expiration date," she said. "I assumed when I was medically certified to be out of work due to the injury that I was on leave. Until I got a letter in the post and it was stating that my sick leave was due to expire, so then I made some phone calls and rang around and discovered that I was only entitled to three months of leave.
"For three months I got my wage as usual, and then I moved to my sick leave day and I had never used a sick day so I had my full sick leave entitlements, and then I went to half pay and then to the State €220."
A new GoFundMe page has been set up for Sophie with the aim of helping to cover her ongoing medical expenses, home adaptations and to explore the possibility of obtaining more treatments to help reduce her pain to 'a somewhat tolerable level'. The campaign reads: "Your generous contributions, no matter the size, will make a significant difference in Sophie's life. Together, we can provide her with the necessary resources to manage her pain, regain some independence, and pursue treatment options that may help her in her recovery."
"Thank you for supporting Sophie Cole during this challenging time. Your kindness and compassion means the world to her."
Donations can be made on her GoFundMe page here.
Sophie is also urging the government to amend the system to acknowledge the number of injuries suffered by SNAs in classrooms every year. She has started her own social media campaign to raise awareness of the issues, and says she has three requests for the state:
- To provide immediate financial assistance to cover expenses relating to medical bills, therapy sessions and medication
- To provide assault leave to teachers and SNAs for the duration of their medically certified leave
- To establish a comprehensive support system for educators who have become victims of violence
You can follow Sophie on Instagram here to learn more about her story.
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