[RKDinOKC]

Right about my second birthday I got a really bad ear infection and was visiting my sister on the indian reservation in Gallup NM. They took me to an indian doctor. The were upset because he made my ear bleed and didn't get rid of the infection. It had gotten better by the time we got back home.

A few months later at the checkup at my regular doctor he noticed I was limping. One leg was shorter than the other. They did some testing and found the infection from my ear had mutated and moved to the weakest point in my body. My legs just happened to be having a growth spurt so that is where the infection moved, the bones in my legs. It weakened the bones growth causing my legs to grow different lengths.

Because the infection was only effecting new bone growth and was in the bone (very difficult to get any treatment into) I was not allowed to put any weight on my legs until they were both the same length again. That was over a year. After that time I was restricted to limiting weight bearing activities on my legs until they were absolutely sure the infection was gone. If I walked or was on them too much my legs would ache so badly I could not sleep at night. I had LOTS of pedal cars, tricycles, and bikes.

Doc was very upset to find I had been playing baseball. Wasn't until after my 16th birthday that he gave the go ahead to get into any kind of sport that involved bearing weight on my legs. Then he warned that it would be very painful while the bones were strengthening, but would eventually get better with time. In fact, trying to get my strength back from being off my foot for a year I am having those same leg pains keeping me awake at night that the doc described as the bones strengthening.