Teen Mom alum Jenelle Evans is opening up about her recent hospitalization.
“Get ready with me while I explain why I was in the hospital the other day,” Evans, 34, said in an Instagram video on Monday, September 7. “I’ll start out by saying I’m gonna try my hardest not to cry, but I found out some news. It’s not great news, but it’s some news.”
The former reality TV star explained that she had an injury in April that led her to need surgery on her left knee. While recovering from the procedure, Evans noticed that her leg was not improving.
“I was later diagnosed with CRPS. This is complex regional pain syndrome,” she said. “The doctor that performed my surgery confirmed the CRPS and sent me to a pain management clinic. I went there about two weeks ago, and he tried giving me a steroid shot injection in my lower back, which wasn’t the best idea because I have been in excruciating pain ever since, which led me to go to the hospital.”
Evans added that she had “extreme” pain in her lower and middle back, as well as in her neck.
“I am literally in pain from the base of my skull to my tailbone, and it is every single day, every day on top of my leg pain,” she continued. “So, I explained this whole situation to the hospital. The hospital said, ‘All right, we’re gonna check to see if you have an abscess from getting the steroid shot injection.’”
Evans then recalled an MRI in 2022 that discovered a cyst filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in her back. A follow-up MRI amid her recent health issues revealed that the cyst has grown to nearly four millimeters and could lead to paralysis if it continues to expand.
“I’m guessing my doctor is going to probably refer me to a neurologist and a neurosurgeon about this, especially because the cyst in my spine is expanding and expanding too much,” she said. “I even have a psychotherapist now because I am literally watching everyone’s lives go past, and I am watching everybody having a great summer, great holidays, Labor Day weekend, and I am stuck in the house. And if I try to leave, I am in too much pain.”
Becoming emotional, Evans admitted that she’s struggled with feeling “hopeless” recently.
“I’m just like, ‘What’s gonna happen next? How are we gonna fix the cyst from getting bigger?’” she said through tears. “I want to know why is it getting bigger, and I want to know why nobody took me seriously.”
She continued, “I just want answers at this point. And I know my doctor encourages me to get up and go out and be in the water. But if I go in the water, it hurts my leg because I have skin sensitivity from CRPS. So I literally am in pain. If I take a shower, the droplets of the shower hitting my leg make it inflamed, and I’m literally crying, and it hurts my back. So at this point, I really don’t know.”
“I just this is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever been through in my life because I always get better, and I’m just not [this time],” Evans concluded.
