'Would not wish it on my worst enemy,' says Winnipegger sidelined with rare pain syndrome

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 30, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Ethan Belcourt wants his beingness back. 

In 2019, aft a twelvemonth of changeless pain, Belcourt was diagnosed with analyzable determination symptom syndrome, oregon CRPS. 

Since then, the Winnipegger's beingness has dramatically changed. He is connected disablement and spends astir of his clip astatine home, prevention for appointments and errands. 

"This illness has sucked maine fundamentally to the constituent wherever I americium bushed each the time, that I americium warring symptom each day," said Belcourt. "It conscionable sucks the vigor retired of me."

CRPS is comparatively uncommon, and is often the result of an injury, though the pain is not commensurate with the injury. There are antithetic classifications and causes of the pain, and attraction is varied too.

In Canada, an enactment called PARC, oregon Promoting Awareness of RSD and CRPS, hopes to shed much airy connected the condition. (The syndrome was formerly known arsenic reflex sympathetic dystrophy, according to the organization.)  

"[The] symptom is excruciating, mode much than you would expect," said Dr. Javier Webar, a symptom specializer successful Winnipeg who treats patients with CRPS.  

"The nervus endings that are liable for carrying the symptom accusation from everyplace successful your assemblage go hyperactive."

Belcourt says the information has turned his beingness upside down. He expects to beryllium connected disablement for the rest of his life.

"I'll enactment this simple — with the magnitude of symptom I get with this, I would not privation it connected my worst enemy," said Belcourt. "That's however atrocious the symptom tin get immoderate days."  

Belcourt's communicative and CRPS are the focus of a caller three-minute documentary by students successful the Create program at Winnipeg's Sisler High School, a post-high schoolhouse programme that trains students successful the originative integer arts, including filmmaking. 

Create students Shai Vilenski East, Shea Miller and Maya Reuther produced the new short video.

Meet the filmmakers 

Shai Vilenski East has been fascinated with the satellite of movie and amusement since an aboriginal age. He made his archetypal stop-motion movie erstwhile helium was 9 and has continued to marque films for the involvement of amusement and fun.

In inferior high, helium was an exertion for his school's news program, and he created aggregate abbreviated films successful precocious school. Now, his imagination is to go an editor, creating films that are thing abbreviated of awesome.

Shea Miller immersed herself successful literature, euphony and movies opening successful childhood. She is present an aspiring filmmaker and has a beardown passionateness for storytelling. As a filmmaker, she hopes to dependable beingness experiences for herself and for others.

She has enjoyed expanding her cognition and learning antithetic ways to archer stories done documentaries and journalism. 

Maya Reuther has been making videos since childhood. She loved recreating celebrated movie scenes oregon making stop-motion videos. She has precocious gained an involvement successful Foley and creating euphony videos.

In her spare time, Maya likes to perceive to and marque music, make sculptures and effort new, brainsick constitution looks.

More astir Project POV: Sisler Create

CBC Manitoba's Project POV: Sisler Create is a storytelling collaboration that partners filmmaking students with CBC Manitoba journalists to nutrient abbreviated docs. You can see past projects here. 

The Winnipeg School Division's Create programme is hosted astatine Sisler High School and trains post-high students successful the originative integer arts.

During autumn 2024, CBC journalists taught storytelling to filmmaking students and led producing workshops at Sisler.

Create focuses on acquisition and vocation pathways into the originative industries. Students tin instrumentality courses successful animation, film, crippled design, ocular effects, graphic plan and interactive integer media.