Homestead mailing list

["WILLIAM JONES" <billj AT harborside.com>]

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.