'EXCRUCIATING'

‘Teen Mom’ Star Says Rare Diagnosis Left Her Unable to Walk

The reality TV personality shared details about her “excruciating” health struggle.

Reality star Jenelle Evans says debilitating health problems have rendered her unable to walk and largely confined to her home.

The 34-year-old mother of three, who first became famous for her 2010 appearance on MTV’s Teen Mom series, shared a tearful Instagram video on Sept. 7 in which she recounted her ongoing months-long health struggle.

In April, Evans underwent surgery for an unspecified knee injury. Afterward, she began to experience gradually worsening pain, leading her to go back to the hospital.

Evans said doctors later diagnosed her with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) after her leg failed to heal as expected.

CRPS is a rare, severe chronic pain condition that affects an arm, leg, hand, or foot after an injury, surgery, stroke, or heart attack. Symptoms can include swelling, changes in skin texture, joint stiffness, and sensitivity to touch or cold, according to the Mayo Clinic.

A pain management doctor gave her a steroid injection in an effort to help with the CRPS, she said, but noted she has “been in excruciating pain ever since.”

“I am literally in pain from the base of my skull to my tailbone,” she said in the Instagram video. “And it is every single day, every day, on top of my leg pain.”

The North Carolina native appeared on MTV’s 16 and Pregnant in 2010, when she was 16, and had her first son, Jace, at 17. She later joined the cast of Teen Mom 2, where the show documented her relationships and co-parenting struggles with her now ex-partner, Andrew Lewis.

Evans has three children: Jace, 17; Kaiser, 11, with ex-partner Nathan Griffith; and Ensley, 9, with ex-husband David Eason.

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DEBILITATING

’90210’ Heartthrob, 53, Reveals Devastating Health Struggle

Pia Bello

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Doctors ordered an MRI to rule out an abscess from the injection, she said.

Instead, the scan indicated a troubling development.

“Back in 2022, I talked a lot on my page about how I have a cyst in my spine. It’s called a syrinx, and it’s filled with CSF fluid,” she recalled.

CSF, or cerebrospinal fluid, is a clear, colorless liquid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord to protect them from injury and provide nutrients like proteins.

But when it’s blocked, CSF may not pulse and flow normally, causing the fluid to build up in the spinal cord and leading to a syrinx, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“The syrinx has gotten bigger,” Evans said. “It went from two millimeters in 2022 to almost four millimeters now.”

“On top of the syrinx getting big, there’s also another cyst, not in my spinal cord but next to it,” she added.

“If it gets too big, I can go paralyzed,” she said.

As cysts grow, they can damage the spinal cord and cause stiffness or weakness. And in severe cases, it can cause a total loss of movement or feeling in the face or other limbs, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Evans said she still cannot walk on her affected leg and has difficulty using crutches. She also described heightened sensitivity in her leg, noting even shower water causes inflammation.

“I literally have been feeling so hopeless lately,” she confessed. “This is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever been through in my life, because I always get better. And I’m just not.”

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Pia BelloBeauty & Wellness Intern

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