April 5, 2013
I am writing this “semi-form” letter to all of you to keep you all informed while saving a lot
of my mostly energy and also time. I will have a note for each of you personally at either the
beginning or the end of this. Some of you will get this by email, others by snail mail so arrival times
will vary.
I have been very sick for the last 10 weeks, since around the first of February. It would
be nice if I could just “give it a name”, but even the doctors have been at a loss to fully diagnose and
identify all the ‘problems’. I could write a book on all the day to day ups and downs, dr visits, tests
etc. etc. which you don’t want to read about and I don’t want to revisit. It was all made more challenging
by the fact I live and care for myself alone.
In Feb. it seemed everyone was being attacked by “bugs” but it soon became apparent I
was not in that common problem. MY “bug” or something was ‘traveling around’ thru different places
and organs of my body. I started calling them “Gremlins” which one Dr. pooh-poohed and 2 others
thought was a cute and apropo analogy. I had pain in my R “joey Votto” knee that I injured last summer,
then my ‘good’ L knee went out with much pain; traveled to my lower back (agony), all the while attacking my internal organs like kidneys and stomach and intestines. I even bought a rollator walker
with seat on March 4. (which I named Rolly (Raleigh) the Rollator!)
Thurs Feb 7, my ‘good’ left knee went out from under me at the top of the stairs. A
cortisone shot masked the problem which started to become painful a few days later. I dealt with that
pain and finally dr visits and an MRI one month later revealed that I had a lateral (parallel to the floor)
stress fracture at the top of the tibia (the “floor” on which the knee rests and moves). Swelling of the
bone marrow, and meniscus tears connected with it aggravated the problem and pain. As the initial
intense pain abated somewhat at the end of Feb, I started have increasing pain in my lower lumbar back.
After my March 7 MRI on knee, I came home in agony from my back and hit a stone wall. I called
Susan Giles in Fla—“Help” can I fly you up here for 10 days to take care of me. I literally could not
walk, sit, lie down or get up—do anything without agonizing #10 Pain. I could hobble from front door
to the car and driving was happily the best thing I could do. I had called Sue Thurs at 4pm, and on Fri,
the next day I picked her up at Cin airport at 11AM the next morning.
This ANGEL cared for me for 10 days, doing everything. We went to doctors, another
MRI of back. That back MRI revealed T12 and L1 acute compression fracture; L3-4-5 facet spurs and
and stenosis, L5-S1- severe degenerative change and bulge and large facet spurs. I was existing on 2
Advil every 4 hours 24/7. Stronger pills, then an epidural on March 21 and yesterday April 4 have abated the pain. The third ‘Gremlin’ rose his head in the weeks between epidurals – intense gastro-
intestinal problems – doctor pills and over the counter medication seemed to abate this problem, tho
we will see.
Hopefully the worst is over, tho I know I am writing this on my “steroid high” from the
epidural, which I know sooner or later will go away. Plans are for me to start PT in about 2 weeks, and
I HOPE to begin a slow climb back to some semblance of normal by June. The back and knee damages
are permanent, and something I will have to deal with probably forever. This report is not very coherent
(the Eng Teacher would give it a C-) but hopefully you get the idea, and appreciate knowing what is
going on with me. A special thanks and shout out to Annette Roth and Paul Brunner and especially
Susan Giles for helping me get thru this rough patch. Much much Love, Carolyn Ruth