In Their Own Write: Lizzy Austin Exemplifies the Will to Win Over Excruciating Pain

They said I’d never play again, but I had plans of my own.

My name is Elizabeth Austin, my coaches and teammates call me Lizzy. I am a 2025 right-handed outfielder and middle infielder. I currently play for Athletics Gold 07 Freeman/Tamborra, a new organization started by Stacy Tamborra. I also play high school softball at East Coweta High School, with Coach Franklin Deloach.

My story begins in February of 2022. I was standing in right field, playing a scrimmage game with my then team, the Lady Dukes Lamar 07. I remember that day so clearly and it’s a day I’ll never forget. As I was standing in right field, out of nowhere, and without any impactful event, my arm began to tingle. It started in my right shoulder and went all the way through my fingers. I kept squeezing my fingers, hoping to stop the tingling and numbness. Then an unimaginable pain and burning started to radiate through my entire right arm. I’ve never felt pain like that before.

The next day my mom took me to an orthopedic doctor, Dr. Kercher. Dr. Kercher immediately did an MRI on my right shoulder, but the results showed no injury. Over the next few weeks, he ran every test possible trying to find an explanation for the pain in my right shoulder, arm, and hand. I had another MRI, a contrast MRI, several ultrasounds, and even nerve conduction tests.  All the results were normal, but my arm pain was worsening. I was unable to move my right arm at all because of excruciating pain.

I had to learn to do everyday tasks with my left arm and hand.  We adopted a no-touch rule in my home, because the slightest sensation of touch would send shock waves of pain through my arm. Not only did touch and movement hurt, but also sensations of hot and cold and certain types of clothing would send me over the edge in pain. I experienced severe hair loss, swelling in my hands, and discoloration of my arm and hand.

School was no longer an option. I was put on hospital homebound services and participated in online classes. Sleep was also very difficult. The pain made it near impossible to sleep. Sleeping on my back or side was impossible, so I started sleeping in our recliner sitting straight up. They also put me on several pain medications, gabapentin, meloxicam, and amitriptyline.  It was awful, I was a walking zombie and could barely function. But through it all, my only concern was getting back on the field.

I needed answers, I needed a solution, I needed to play ball.

After several weeks with no answers, Dr. Kercher sent me to a thoracic doctor because he was starting to suspect Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Our first visit with the thoracic doctor was in June of 2022, four months after the pain began. He recommended six weeks of physical therapy, and if that didn’t work, we would discuss our options for surgery.  Well, physical therapy did not work. The pain and sensitivity remained the same if not worse, and let’s just say the pain from physical therapy was agonizing. When we went for our follow up visit to the thoracic doctor, we saw his colleague who was considered an expert in Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. After examining me, the doctor felt confident I had Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

I was shocked and needed a minute to process what he said, but my parents wanted immediate answers. I remember they started asking question after question, honestly that part was all a blur for me. There were a lot of abbreviations, such as CRPS, and terms like neurological and chronic, being discussed that I didn’t understand. I could tell by the look on everyone’s faces that whatever this was, it wasn’t good. My mom was fighting back tears, and my dad looked very worried. The room suddenly became quiet, and at that moment there was only one question I needed to ask, only one question that mattered to me.

I looked at the doctor and asked him when will I be able to play softball again. I was not prepared for his answer as he told me the chances of ever playing again are very slim, and never at the same level. As long as I live, I will never forget those words. It felt as though the oxygen had been sucked out of the room, I couldn’t breathe, and I couldn’t wrap my head around the words he had spoken.

It was the worst moment of my life.

Over the next few weeks, my mom searched for answers. She talked to friends, researched CRPS on the internet, and posted on social media trying to find treatment options. I was seeing another new doctor, Dr. Bruce, at Children’s Advanced Center in Atlanta. He maintained all my pain medicines and started me in physical therapy for CRPS three times per week, and I was also working with a psychologist for psychiatric pain management. Dr. Bruce was a little more optimistic about my recovery and treatment, but it was going to take a very long time, and time was something I wasn’t prepared to give. My dream has always been to play in college, and I knew my recruiting time was quickly approaching. I made the decision to fight, not to accept what the doctors were saying, and to get back on the field at all costs. After all, I was a competitor, competing was what I had been coached to do my whole life.

This thing called CRPS would not beat me!

At the end of August my mom heard from Lonnie Daniel. His daughter, Taylor Daniel, also a softball player, had been diagnosed with CRPS at the age of nine. Taylor received treatment at Boston Children’s Hospital Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Center and was able to make a successful recovery including playing travel ball again. Finally, there was hope!

My mom wasted no time, and within two weeks I was on my way to Boston for an initial evaluation. At the evaluation, I was examined by two different doctors and spoke with a psychiatric pain management psychologist. After the examinations and reviewing all my previous tests and medical records, the doctors agreed to accept me into the Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. We were ecstatic! We finally had hope, and the doctors in Boston believed I would be able to make a full recovery. The only bad news was that there was a six-month waiting list before I could enter the program.

In the meantime, I continued my pain medication, physical therapy, and psychiatric pain management. I pushed myself as hard as I could with only one goal in mind: softball.

Physical therapy was exhausting. I had to push through the pain, burning sensation, and numbness to gain movement in my arm. Kyle Clark, my physical therapist, was amazing. He pushed me to my limit and encouraged me to keep going. He knew my goal was to get back on the field, and together, we worked to help get me closer to that goal until I was able to go to Boston. Things were going well, and I was making real progress. Then another setback.

It was October, and my high school team was in the regional playoffs. I was in the dugout with my teammates just before the game when this unimaginable, burning, pain shot through my left arm. It was like someone was stabbing my arm repeatedly with a hot knife. I knew instantly what was happening to me. It had spread, CRPS had made its way to my left arm. We knew there were cases of CRPS spreading to the other limb, but they were highly unlikely. That night I ended up in the emergency room.

The doctors in Boston confirmed with the doctors in Georgia that it had, in fact, spread to my left arm. The next few weeks were the hardest of my entire life. I couldn’t do anything for myself, I relied on my mom for everything.  She fed me, dressed me, bathed me, brushed my teeth, and brushed my hair when it wasn’t falling out in clumps. I was helpless.

Over the next couple of months, I continued with my treatment plan. I hit the reset button and continued to fight. Kyle never let me give up, and we continued to push for progress in both my right and left arms. On December 22, 2022, we finally got the call we had been waiting on. I was off the waiting list, and I would begin the Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Program, PPRC, in Boston on Jan. 11th of 2023.

January 10th, my mom and I left for Boston. I began the program on January 11^th, and it was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. The program was eight hours a day of physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, psychiatric pain management with my team of therapists, and daily sessions with Dr. Sethna, the doctor at the PPRC. I even had “homework” every night that consisted of physical therapy exercises for me to practice.

After week one they took me off all medications. I was in a lot of pain, but my head felt clearer, and I was able to work harder and push myself even more. I kept working and kept pushing with only one goal in mind. Playing softball. I worked hard every day and when I thought I had reached my limit I pushed even harder. I stayed in Boston for six weeks. Every day I got better, and I slowly started to regain the use of my arms. I’ll never forget my last day in Boston. My physical therapist, Kevin, took my mom and I outside. He had my ball and both my gloves with him and told me it was time to see what you got.

For the first time in little over a year, my mom and I played catch.

When I got back home, I immediately began to work on getting back on the field. I continued with my physical therapy, started working with a personal trainer, began hitting lessons, and worked consistently on the field. Getting back to playing ball was tough and a lot harder than I imagined, but I kept grinding every day. Progress was slow, but I was determined to get back to the game I loved.

I soon found a travel ball home with Mehkia Freeman on the Bombers 07 Freeman/Lewis, now Athletics Gold Tamoborra-Freeman 07. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of coaches and teammates to help push me to get better every day. I honestly believe God put them in my life for a reason. In April of 2023, I took the field for the first time in over a year and have not looked back since.

My biggest challenge throughout my battle with CRPS was the mental aspect of it. I couldn’t let myself feel hopeless, defeated, or sorry for myself. I knew if I let those feelings creep in, there would be no coming back from that. I had to keep fighting. I had to compete.

That would also be my advice for anyone battling back from an injury. You must stay mentally strong. When you want to give up and when those negative thoughts begin to creep in, take a deep breath and hit the reset button. Go back to being the competitor you learned to be on the field and use that competitiveness to help you fight through the thoughts and feelings of defeat. After all, we are athletes.

Competing, winning, and beating the odds is what we do best!

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