Erika Conrad

I am 19 years old and though I’ve had EM for about 10 years, I was only diagnosed a couple of years ago.  I haven’t found any medication that helps the pain in my feet. The doctor now has me on Neurontin and Tramadol and I hope they help. Now even my face gets extremely red and hot when I am very stressed. I rarely leave the house due to the pain, which seems almost constant. I wish I had someone in my life who understands, but EM is almost impossible to describe. I’ve applied for disability, which I really need since I cannot work. I recently went for a walk with my three-year-old daughter to get some fresh air. She had been begging to go out for a week.  After about 15 minutes, she suddenly said her feet hurt. We sat down at a bus stop and I just started crying when I thought about her little feet hurting the way mine do. On the way home, I stopped at our mailbox and found TEA’s FootSteps. When I read others’ experiences with EM, it was comforting to know that I’m not alone and there actually are people out there who understand and want to help. Erika lives in Tacoma, WA. You can email me at [email protected]