At first it was a swelling. Then the leg grew weaker, causing a chain reaction that aggravated all her joints and muscles. For Judi, things were about to get much worse. It would be a year before they would get much better.
It was the swelling in her right leg that first brought Judi to the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute. Concerned that she might have a malignant sarcoma, Judi’s Rothman doctor performed a biopsy and was relieved to discover a lypoma, a benign and operable tumor. But just prior to surgery, fate struck again. Judi was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre´ syndrome, a serious nervous system disorder. She was almost completely paralyzed.
As she lay immobile in the neurological special care unit at Jefferson, Judi received a visit from her Rothman doctor. He assured her that she would recover fully, and that when she did, however long it might take, he would “straighten out that leg.”
And so he did, a few months later. Then, in the process of a routine postoperative exam, he noticed a tiny abnormality in her breast. Another tumor—this one malignant—was found and removed by a Jefferson surgeon.
“He not only fixed my leg. He saved my life,” Judi says.
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