Traci Duke
St. Maries, Idaho
June 10, 2007

In January 2007, I went to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to shop with my children.  That night I started having a burning sensation on the tops of my feet.  I would rub them and it seemed to help.  My lower back was bothering me a little bit, but I attributed that to the driving.  I went to bed and on Sunday the 14th; I woke up to more back pain and the burning had moved up to my knees.  Again, I thought I had just hurt it and that the pain would go away on its own.  I took some ibuprofen and used a heating pad the rest of the day.  The pain in my back kept getting worse.  I continued with the ibuprofen and I also took Tylenol to see if it would help.  The burning was moving up my legs.  By Monday the 15th I was in so much pain, I could hardly stand it.  I kept taking the ibuprofen and Tylenol to function.  That night around 7:00, I told my husband to take me to the hospital.  I couldn’t stand the pain, and the burning was now up to my waist.  The hospital didn’t know what was going on, but they ruled out a pinched nerve.  They gave me a shot for the pain and some Darvocet until I could get in to see my doctor the next day.

I live in a small town; including the surrounding areas, there are about 3,000 people.  The staff at the clinic and hospital hadn’t seen anything like this before.  I had x-rays done on my visit on Tuesday the 16th.  The doctor didn’t have a clue what was going on with me.  They did know that my symptoms were not consistent for a back injury; they were moving in the wrong direction.  They don’t start at the feet and go up the body.  I was told to take Naproxen and they gave me Tylenol 4 with codeine for the pain.  Around the 23rd, I started having problems urinating.  I thought it was from one of the meds, so I stopped taking both of them.  After a few hours, I was able to urinate normally again.  I started taking the ibuprofen and Tylenol again.  By now, the burning had gone from my feet to my waist and was now from my waist, up my trunk, down my arms and to the ends of my fingers.

On Wednesday the 31st, I was able to have my first MRI.  I requested the MRI.  They were trying to convince me that I had a slipped or crushed disc.

My husband’s birthday is February 2nd.  My daughters and I planned to surprise him with dinner at the Casino in Worley.  I had been having some more back pain and decided to take the Tylenol 4.  I had taken one earlier in the morning and by 5:30; I had to take another one.  I started having problems urinating again.  But this time it lasted longer.  In fact, I was still having problems in the morning.  By 3:00 Saturday afternoon, I was having my daughter take me to the ER for my first catheter.  They pulled off 1200 cc’s.  I went home and was told not to wait so long to come back to the hospital, if I continued having problems.  I limited what I drank the rest of the day and lasted until 10:30 pm.  I was back in the ER and this time they left the catheter in. 

While I was there, the doctor looked up the results of my MRI that had been done on Wednesday.  It didn’t show anything.  I told the nurse I was also having problems having bowel movements.  The doctor told me to take an over-the-counter liquid laxative and if that didn’t help, to try an enema.  I tried both and was up, off and on, all night as they helped me some.  As the night went on, I noticed I was having problems walking.  My legs were giving out on me.  I had to wake my husband up around 4:00 am to help me into the bathroom.  I now knew that whatever was going on was bad.
 
I woke up around 8:30 on Sunday the 4th.  I couldn’t support myself anymore.  I woke my husband up crying and told him I was scared and that whatever was going on with me was bad and I didn’t know what to do.  I waited until around 10:00 and then called the hospital.  I told them I wanted to come in and have them run every test they could on me.  I then called my sister and told her I was going into the hospital and asked if she would tell our parents, who were at her house.   I then hung up because I was crying so hard.  My Mom called back about 10 minutes later to tell me they were all coming and to go to the hospital.  They would be there as soon as they could.  They live in Montana. 

I then had my husband tell my children I was going to the hospital.  He had to take me out to the pick-up and load me in it.  I got to the hospital and, thank G-d, I had a doctor that had somewhat of a clue what was going on.  He was the fourth doctor I had had since I started having problems.  He thought what I had was GBS.  I didn’t know that GBS and TM had very similar symptoms.  He had me get a CAT scan with the dye.  He then admitted me to the hospital.  He told me I needed to see a neurologist as soon as possible. 

My family from Montana showed up around 3:00 and my kids came to see me.  My kids at the time were 27, 23, 15 and 14.  We were all scared.   

The next morning, the doctor told me that they were trying to get me in to see a neurologist as soon as they could get me to Coeur d’Alene.   I was shipped over at 11:30 am.  It was now the 5th of February.  I was admitted into Kootenai Medical Center and by now, I could not support myself at all.  I had two different MRI’s that day, and the next morning I had another one on my head.  I also had a spinal tap.  By the 6th of February, I could not move anything below my armpits.  I was paralyzed. 

They started me on high amounts of steroids; plus a load of other meds.  I was paralyzed for about four days.  I had a lot of support from my family and friends.  I thank the Lord for all of them.  I was able to stay strong because of them.

My doctor was now changing my diagnosis from GBS to TM.  I was told that the two main reasons were that I never lost my reflexes and that I had swelling in my spine.  Plus, GBS doesn’t have the burning sensation I was having.
 
I think the one physical therapist was a key to my recovery.  He came in and asked what I wanted to be able to do and what I wanted for my options.  I told him the bed I was in was not an option for me.  I told him I wanted out of it and that I wanted to sit in the chair across the room or even the seating by the window.  He asked when I wanted to do it and I said I wanted it now.  He came back in about 10 minutes and helped me into the chair.  I sat there about two hours.  I was in a lot of pain, but the last thing I wanted was to be in the bed I had been in for four days.  They had me in the chair longer each day.  This had been the longest I had ever been in a hospital and I wanted to leave.

One of those days, I had the PT lady helping me into the chair and I apologized for them having to support me to get me into the chair.  She informed me that I had supported myself.  I was shocked.  I didn’t know I had helped at all.  I had felt the pressure in my legs, but didn’t know it was because I was on them.  Now, I knew what that sensation meant.  I had a terrible pins and needles effect going on in my feet and lower legs.  It was worse when I was putting pressure on them.  Now I knew what to feel for when transferring to and from the bed.  Awesome.  Over the next few days, I wanted to do more and more.  I was able to finally try and stand on my own.  My sister took pictures.  It was such a great feeling.  Then they had me try walking.  The walker was a big adjustment.  I made it to the sink to brush my teeth.  Then into the closet.  Oh, wait, it was the bathroom.  Huh, imagine that, a bathroom; too bad I couldn’t use it.  I had to sit on the toilet for a few minutes.  I had over done it and was dizzy and nauseous.  I made it back to the bed which was about ten feet away.  I lay down and was sweating.  But, I had walked. 

I was on the second floor for a week and then taken down to the rehabilitation facility for another week.  I was in a wheelchair most of that time.  Physical therapy and occupational therapy was hard.  Who knew it was so hard to learn to walk.  No wonder kids have such a hard time.  I had to work so hard.  Also, they pulled my catheter the second day in rehab.  On top of all the therapy, I had to get cathed 8-12 times a day.  I never lost that sensation.  I knew when I was in need of a bowel movement or when my bladder was full.  I also could feel the catheter.  Not fun.  But after a couple days, they taught me how to cath myself. 

I came home after a week in rehab.  I tired easily.  But I never used the wheelchair, and I only used the walker for about two weeks and that was when I went out of the house.  I still have numbness; the outside of my left leg from my hip to my toes and my left knee.  My toes and feet have some numbness but not too bad.  I still have to cath myself now and then, but for the most part, I can urinate by myself.  I have some numbness across my back and down my left side.  My left leg has gotten more numb in the past week.  I walk with a slight limp.  If you didn’t know me, you wouldn’t notice. 

I am back to work.  I have a daycare I run out of my home.  My Mom and older daughters helped me during the first month when I got out.  I work full time.  I don’t tire too much these days.  It was pretty bad the first few weeks.  So far, this is my story.