From pain to victory
By From staff reports
Published in News on September 16, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Matt Kearney completes a rope climb obstacle during the 7 kilometer Extreme Warrior Dash at Busco Beach this spring. Kearney completed the race in 38 minutes and finished in the top three, showing a complete recovery from his foot injury
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Kearney completes another obstacle during the Extreme Warrior Dash at Busco Beach this spring.
It started as athlete's foot.
Or at least, the symptoms of athlete's foot.
Matt Kearney continued to self treat his foot burning sensation with topical creams and remedies.
The issues started shortly after participating in his first race, the Hillybilly Hike in 2012.
"I was using normal stuff to treat it, but it got worse," he said.
He started going to doctors-- general doctors, skin doctors, foot doctors. He continued to put steroid creams on his burning feet.
Eventually he ended up at a specialist in Chapel Hill.
It was not athlete's foot gone amok. It was erythromelalgia.
"I was happy because I had a name," he said. He began to research his newly named condition.
Erythromelalgia is a rare neurovascualar pain disorder characterized by burning, swelling and redness of the extremities.
There is no cure. Still, he would get up and run a race. He couldn't train regularly because of the pain.
Kearney had just discovered running and feared he would have to give it up permanently.
"It got to the point I could barely walk around," he said. He found ways to manage the symptoms. The air conditioning was always on. He tried to keep his feet elevated. No matter the season, he was always in sandals.
For awhile, he kept his feet in cool tubs of water, but that caused the skin to deteriorate and caused them to crack and become more inflamed.
The support groups online, like Burning to a Cure, offered emotional support and humor.
"We'd talk about our favorite sandals," he said. "It was sad."
For a year, it got worse.
And then he stumbled across a similar case, being treated with large doses of Vitamin D.
He decided to give it a try.
"I was taking 1,000 units or something a day," he said. "It seemed like I was getting slightly better."
He did not need to have a fan on his feet constantly.
He could put on socks and shoes.
"It's almost like I'm scared to wear sandals because it used to be all I could do," he said.
He says it doesn't work for all of his fellow sufferers, but it has almost entirely cured him.
"Now I can say I'm glad it happened. I have an understanding," he said. "I try to take people's disabilities more seriously."
As he got better, he got back into adventure, obstacle races. He competes in triathlons and Spartan races.
"Running has always come easy to me," he said. "I don't know, I try to be healthy and I like being outside. It's a natural thing to me." He did not run or play sports as a child. But now, he is finishing in top 3 of major races, including the 7 kilometer Extreme Warrior Dash at Busco Beach this spring. He finished the obstacles and race in 38 minutes. He is in the process of setting up a race to benefit sufferers and research of erythromelalgia. The dry-tri Waynesborough Sprint will take place Nov. 7. It will involve a 3-mile mountain bike ride, 2-mile kayak paddle and 1-mile run.