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Pearl awoke one morning in October, 1998, to pain all over her body. She couldn’t get comfortable lying down, sitting or standing. Her scalp was too tender to touch. We knew we had to find a doctor immediately. The hospital emergency room (ER) - which is where we should have gone because of the intensity and total body attack of the unusual pain - wasn’t even considered. We had been to several specialists in the short time we were in Florida but hadn’t been successful in finding an Internist for such a situation. I found a family practice physician (FFP) nearby who could see her on an emergency basis that day.
The FFP examined her sinuses, determined she had a bad sinus infection and prescribed a five day course of antibiotics. We returned in three weeks after completing the course of antibiotics with no change in her painful condition. He prescribed a second antibiotic regimen for the stubborn sinus infection – this time for 15 days. He drew blood for testing and prescribed an X-ray of her sinuses. After that failed to affect her condition he prescribed a third course for 10 days. He sent her to an orthopedic surgeon to evaluate her knee, pained from a fall two weeks before the "pain all over" started. The third course had no effect; the X-ray confirmed sinus involvement. The Orthopedist wanted to do knee surgery for a minor old damaged ligament condition he observed which had nothing to do with all of her body pain. Our disappointment was immense with the orthopedic diversion and lack of identifying the cause of her overall poor and painful condition.