Renee Wheeler
Is There an Infectious Cause for Vascular Disease?

On January 5, 2001 I was living a normal, healthy life as a married woman, mother of two children. I could never have imagined how my quality of life would deteriorate so quickly from that day forward for the next 3 months.

That very same day I tripped, fell and injured my left knee. The emergency room diagnosed me with a fractured patella. The pain was instantly excruciating, and I could not apply pressure. Therefore, I had to use crutches because I could not use my left leg.

From that point until the day I arrived at Sierra Integrative Medical Center I had seen many doctors of varying specialties. Not to mention the hospital and physical therapy. When this nightmare began, I asked the doctors on several occasions about the possibility of blood clots or infection, because my left leg was in pain and there was swelling, discoloration and coldness all the way down to my toes. For the first 6 weeks they said “NO” to blood clots and/or infection. I was advised to elevate my leg and continue with physical therapy more aggressively. One doctor thought I had Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), so I was scheduled for a lumbar injection.

On February 19, 2001, the day of my lumbar procedure, I was hooked up on an IV when the doctor saw my leg and said “Let’s rule out blood clots before we begin.” I was immediately sent to have a Doppler Ultrasound done. It was then that I was diagnosed with Deep Venous Thrombosis. The four main veins from my knee down were blocked. I was hospitalized briefly and sent home with medications, some of which I had already been taking for pain.

The pain swelling, discoloration and coldness continued to get much worse. I took more medications and I was advised to wait for 2 to 3 more months to do the lumbar injection. By then, I believe, it would have been too late.

During the whole ordeal, a friend told my husband that I should go to Sierra Integrative Medial Center (SIMC). She knew they would be able to help me there. So, after 3 months of deteriorating, I was desperate. I called SIMC and scheduled an appointment for April 2, 2001.

Upon my arrival at SIMC, they immediately began my treatments. They also performed blood tests, circulation tests and many other tests, which were necessary to know exactly what was causing the diagnosis of “Deep Venous Thrombosis.” The laboratory test results showed highly elevated titers of Cytomegalovirus and positive Lyme disease.

Just after 4 days of IV treatments, I began walking a little bit without crutches. Also, the pain, swelling, discoloration and coldness were subsiding. On the 7th day, I didn’t need the crutches at all and my symptoms were continuing to fade. After 2 weeks, my limp was beginning to go away. When people (other patients) saw me on day one at SIMC and then saw me one week or 2 weeks later, they thought I looked like a completely different person. By the end of week 3, I believe I was 95% better.

I truly believe that during the 4 weeks I spent at SIMC my whole life changed. The staff at SIMC is responsible for saving my leg and life.

I owe a great deal of thanks to the entire staff of SIMC for my recovery. Words cannot express how grateful I am. The memory of their knowledge, expertise, care and kindness will remain with me forever!