Fifty-Three and Becoming Pain Free
Ronni's Story
Around the time of her 50th birthday, Ronni – now 53 – noticed that her body was becoming more unreliable. She would fall more often and her neck was starting to really hurt. She knew she needed to see someone and ended up finding the Weinberg Family Cerebral Palsy Center through a friend.
“My story is typical in that I had excellent care as a child, but from the age of about 25-50, I didn't really have a cerebral palsy doctor. Whenever I tried to find one, they only saw kids. I currently live in New York and work as a librarian in the public library. I am the quintessential stereotype – I live alone, have a cat, and many cardigan sweaters,” said Ronni.
Eventually, she started seeing several providers at the Weinberg Family CP Center, the most recent being Dr. Paulo Selber who she had surgery with in 2020. Dr. Selber performed a metatarsal-phalangeal joint fusion to correct Ronni's hallux valgus deformity, a foot disorder that typically results in a skewed toe which causes difficulty walking along with chronic pain and discomfort. The surgical procedure involves precisely re-aligning and stabilizing the bones and ligaments of the toe into a more anatomically correct position.
Ronni's Experience with Dr. Selber
"Dr. Selber listened to my concerns, and didn't rush right into surgery. He sent me for gait analysis, and then we decided that the surgery would help. When I experienced some unexpected pain during my recovery, he saw me right away. Dr. Selber really knows CP, but also understands that adults have lives and limits to what someone might be willing to do. I told him I was nervous about having casts on both legs for so long, so he decided I would be the test case for using the boots as long as my bones seemed strong enough during the surgery."
"I am so grateful to have connected with the Center. I have seen Dr. Roye and Dr. Dyrszka over the years and the Center has helped me to address, and mostly solve, my two chronic issues. I never thought that could happen! Also, when my employer was giving me problems about returning to work after neck surgery in 2019, the team at the CP Center – specifically Jan Moskowitz – really went to bat for me and I had no issues when returning from this latest surgery with Dr. Selber."
Ronni is back to work at the library and finally pain free in her feet for the first time in 45 years.