Reader’s Digest Canada – September 2019

WHAT’S WRONG

WITH ME?

THE PATIENT: Sharon*, a 62-year-old

human-resources assistant

THE SYMPTOMS: A red, swollen arm

THE DOCTOR: Dr. Dima Nimri, internal-

medicine resident at Sanford USD Med-

ical Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.

S

HARON LIVED WITH her husband

in a quiet South Dakota town,

where she worked full-time at a

shipping company. For a few years,

she’d noticed mild aches and pains in

her shoulders and fingers, but she

assumed those came part and parcel

with turning 60. She never bothered

with annual checkups.

But circumstances changed in early

November 2018. Her right forearm and

elbow became sore, red and swollen.

Every day, it was more noticeable and

more tender. After four days, she went

to the emergency department at her

local hospital.

Sharon was diagnosed with cellu-

litis, a common skin infection, and

given antibiotics. Since her blood

counts were unusual, she was admit-

ted for the treatment. But over the next

three days, the arm swelling increased,

the redness spread, a strange, dark blis-

ter appeared in the centre and Sharon

developed a fever. Her doctors realized

they were dealing with something far

*BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS HAVE BEEN CHANGED. more complex; she was transferred by

BY Lisa Bendall

illustration by victor wong

reader’s digest

24 september 2019

HEALTH