Shin Dong-wook contracts rare illness, discharged from army

by javabeans

As of this month, actor Shin Dong-wook (Soulmate, Wish Upon a Star) was just over halfway through his two years of mandatory army duty, but has been discharged from service due to a condition he has recently been diagnosed with, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), which caused a sudden onset of intense pain.

Regarding the diesase, Wikipedia sez: “Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic progressive disease characterized by severe pain, swelling and changes in the skin. Though treatment is often unsatisfactory, early multimodal therapy can cause dramatic improvement or remission of the syndrome in some patients. The cause of this syndrome is currently unknown. Precipitating factors include injury and surgery, although there are documented cases that have no demonstrable injury to the original site.”

According to a rep from the actor’s side, he is currently resting after receiving his discharge on July 13. While they expect that the disease won’t be a great hindrance in daily life, the pain caused by the illness can be severe, and can arise out of the blue. They reportedly didn’t want to make a big deal of the discharge, as they are well aware of the sensitive climate with regard to draft issues. (Basically, it’s always a sensitive climate when we’re talking about army service.)

Shin enlisted in July 2010 and is now receiving medical treatment for his CRPS. Eeeep! I love Shin Dong-wook (being affiliated with the wonderful Soulmate earns you a lot of love, in my book) and was looking forward to his return to civilian life, but not via lots and lots of debilitating pain. Hope he feels better soon.

Via TV Report

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