Devina Sankhla is a 39-year-old businesswoman who founded the company ‘Little Shanti Gifts’ alongside her husband Dr. Deepak Sankhla. Born in Hertfordshire, she now lives full-time in Ilford with her husband and two young boys (aged 8 and 5). Devina was born into the Hindu Gujarati faith and has always been extremely active, and hard working.
Having been a healthy individual who loved her career, hobbies, and busy family life, Devina’s day-to-day shifted after her son’s 6th birthday in 2022.
An innocent game of football led to Devina injuring her toes. What followed was weeks of “excruciating pain”. She could not walk, stand, and often fell over.
After hitting medical walls with no answers, 8 weeks of constant pain had now passed. It took Devina over 5 hospital trips, 4 doctors, and even sending medical results to America before answers to her pain were discovered.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Devina was told she had CRPS. This stands for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. At age 37, this was shocking to hear. This condition is often hard to treat, due to underdeveloped research. The condition is rare with only 5 people having it out of every 10,000 across Europe.
CRPS means you are in constant pain. The pain is intense, consistent, and difficult to cope with. Devina told us of the immense pain she was in, even with being on the maximum strength painkillers.
These painkillers took a toll on Devina, which caused her further distress. Her absence from her previous life led to her losing friends and being far less active. She relied on people to pick her children up, and even do food shops from time to time.
Stress can have an enormous impact on this condition, and sadly the loss of her grandmother exasperated her daily pain.
Devina also heavily relied on her husband and best friend for everything. Her pain became so unbearable that even carrying objects down the stairs was too much.
She highlighted that in Asian culture, sometimes the household chores can fall onto the woman, however, this was never the case in her marriage. She described them “as always having been a team, still to this day”. Devina emphasised how she could not have done this without Deepak’s continued help, positivity, and support in her recovery journey, as well as starting this new business.
To truly assess and understand the pain Devina and other CRPS people are in, the McGill pain questionnaire can be used. This was devised to assess the pain level of different conditions and diseases.
Factors in this assessment included sensory (sensitivity to the skin), affective (how long it lasts), and evaluative (finding where the pain is). CRPS is the most painful chronic condition known, with it ranking 42/50 on the McGill scale.
This ranks higher than pain during childbirth, and non-terminal cancer. Devina discussed how pain was even caused when showering, highlighting just how sensitive this issue became.
The Burning Nights CRPS Support charity highlights how CRPS pain is equated to having a finger amputated without aesthetic.
Healing through Nature
Devina’s CRPS pain spread to her other toes, which led to her being bed-bound for two months. However, Devina and husband Deepak would not be beaten by this condition. In times of distress, they decided to plan their new business, with the aim to help others.
Devina started to experiment with holistic healing and essential oils. Not only this, but she soon realised her stress levels decreased as she brought more of the ‘outside nature, indoors’. This became a constant goal for Devina to achieve.
This included her and her husband filling rooms with more greenery, scenic photos of nature, as well as natural substances such as shells and crystals.
Research from NASA proves that indoor plants can improve concentration and productivity by 15%. As well as reducing stress and working as mood boosters. Devina highlighted the positive impact this had on her pain management, which is why she opened her business ‘Little Shanti Gifts’.
She and her husband have used the bad days from CRPS, to focus on helping others. This has been done through carefully curating care packages that include scenic photos, crystals, essential oils, beach shells, mindfulness practice cards, and more. These all contribute to the relaxation and mindfulness that have helped so many overcome pain and distress.
What is important to note is the selflessness Devina had whilst struggling with massive amounts of pain. She stated, “I’ve always been the one to help everyone else, it’s just something within me, and knowing I can make a difference in people’s lives that really need it, means so much to me”.
Devina and good friend Misun, who has been a huge support to Devina during some extremely tough times
Burning Nights CRPS support aims to help people with CRPS and spread awareness for this condition. People facing these issues are not alone, and like Devina found, pain management techniques do exist.
Devina and Deepak’s company gives 5% of their profits to this charity to aid its mission. However, awareness was the key takeaway from speaking with Devina. She wants CRPS to be an open and honest conversation with how hard it can be on yourself, and your loved ones.
Having a support system is hugely important, which is why charities such as Burning Nights CRPS support can be so vital to struggling individuals, as they come to terms with this life changing condition.
