For Bernd Rosenbaum, it is a normal working day in the home office when he begins to feel the first slight tension in the right knee bend. Suddenly the knee becomes thick and it is even more difficult for him to get his leg off the sofa on the floor with his own physical strength. “I couldn’t walk properly,” recalls the 51-year-old from Höxter-Fürstenau. He could only pull his right leg behind him. Bernd Rosenbaum: “From now on my life was turned inside out.”
Bernd Rosenbaum, who works as a manager in product marketing for industrial communication technology, is literally dragging himself through the day with severe pain. He didn’t want to give up the hope that the problems might magically go away again. But the pain persisted, the physical limitations increased – inexplicable even for the very sporty Höxteraner.
Ultrasound brings certainty
One day later there was pinching in my left leg. Tension in the squat. The knee is getting bigger every hour. “In the evening I was almost unable to move and I hardly knew how to walk anymore,” says Rosenbaum. The way to the toilet becomes more difficult, going up and down stairs is almost impossible. Together with his wife, he decides to call an ambulance. When he arrives at the emergency department of the St. Ansgar Hospital in Höxter, his knees are x-rayed and blood drawn. “Fortunately, the doctors checked me out completely,” said the 51-year-old.
There it is decided to take the patient to the rheumatology clinic in St. Vincenz Hospital in Brakel under the direction of chief physician Dr. Embarrassed Mikhail Govorov. The cause is quickly found there and the diagnosis is clear. In addition to the noticeable inflammation values in the blood, an ultrasound brings the certainty: Bernd Rosenbaum suffers from a rheumatic joint disease that must be treated.
Individual treatment
The collected fluid is removed from the joints by means of a puncture, and then cortisone is injected. The next day, the left knee follows and the swelling goes down. But then another bad news: In addition to Rosenbaum’s knees, the wrists are also affected by the rheumatic disease. “Each patient receives their individual therapy with us”, says chief physician Dr. Govorov, including Bernd Rosenbaum. Although he will have to rely on a wheelchair to protect his knee joints for a few days, he looks to the future with optimism. “I felt that I was in good hands at the Rheumatology Clinic, thanks to the good team of doctors and nurses. It is thanks to you that I am finally feeling better, ”he says. What is the Höxteraner looking forward to the most? Rosenbaum: “To be able to walk again without pain.”
Rheumatism is a multi-faceted disease: those affected often suffer from severe pain or are restricted in their movement. The goal of the specialists at the Clinic for Rheumatology at the St. Vincenz Hospital in Brakel is to bring the inflammatory process to a standstill or even to be able to stop the medication. Because of the close cooperation within the KHWE with other specialist departments such as orthopedics, internal medicine and pain medicine, patients can be treated at a high medical level – both inpatient and outpatient.
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