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  • From: "WILLIAM JONES" <billj AT harborside.com>
  • To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc:
  • Subject: [Homestead] Paraplegia Story
  • Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2012 14:48:40 GMT

Hi John,
Well it started with a pain in the butt.  It turned out to be a rectal
abcess.  I think I may have eaten a machine part from a box of generic
cereal.  I went and had it lanced, opting only for the local.  I figured that
in Pakistan, where Dr. A. is from, the village barber probably does that, and
sends them off with a pat on the rump and an Islamic blessing.  I didn't want
to be the weak-kneed American who asked for a hospital stay.  The first
chamber was fully anaesthetized, but when that needle broke through to the
other chamber, I felt every bit of it.  So I know that the Dr. did nothing
wrong, at that point.
He put me on Ciprofloxacin with no magnesium supplement.  I developed severe
tendonitis in my lower left rib cage, where I had injured my tendon years ago
from shivering too hard, one cold Oregon summer night.  It turns out there's
a class action lawsuit against Bayer, the manufacturer, by people who have
actually snapped their Achilles' tendons on Cipro, due to the intense
depletion of magnesium from the body.  We called the office, and he told me
to stop the Cipro.  A few days later I developed a severe back pain, but
still nothing worth getting upset about.  After all, back pain hurts, and I
sure didn't want to hear that I could have a cortisone shot and a lecture
about not dialing 911 capriciously.
Well, the eve of June 2 was my fateful hour.  I was sleeping in the chair to
overcome the pain.  I got up and had trouble walking.  Right then I could
have fallen and broken my hip, a much worse fate.  Only 50% of the people
over age 50 survive for 2 years after a broken hip.  I crab-walked up the
stairs, my last walking act.  Sitting on the edge of the bed, I literally
watched my legs die before my eyes.  At first fully extended, then 80
degrees, 70 degrees, etc.   Finally they ceased to move altogether.  At that
point we called the paramedics, and my wild ride began.
I was admitted to OHSU that morning, and had an MRI soon after.  The
diagnosis?  The infection had spread to my lower spine, causing paralysis.  I
was rushed into surgery.  I woke up to a lady yelling "you have diabetes", 
Once I got my first hunger pang, five days later, the blood sugar went right
down and now is no problem.  As Michael taught me that night, my RR nurse,
it's a convenience-threatening disease, paraplegia.
Now I'm staying in my seat until the ride comes to a full stop.


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