Karen Marie Kline Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507                                                                            October 2, 2004 Dr. Fitzpatrick, Whole Life Clinic 404 Brunn School Road, Building C Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 Dear Dr. Fitzpatrick, I haven’t come to see you because I still am struggling with money. There seems to be some progress with the foreclosures, since I did Third Party Complaints which cite the Condominium Act in a very clear way, showing that the Association is in breach of its duty when it’s failed to pay its share of the common element costs related to the privy pit in the common element lot. But on a day to day level things remain a challenge. Here’s my medical problem: On Saturday, August 14, 2004, I accidentally jammed a darning needle into my big toe. I didn't realize it had broken off in my toe because I have a bit of peripheral neuropathy. But then a couple days later when I was giving myself a B12 shot there was this glint at the end of my toe where the sunshine was hitting it and it turned out there was a quarter inch piece of needle left in my toe. I pulled it out with tweezers. And it turned out that was only half of the eye end of the needle. I got the other half out, too. But that was pretty hard because it was like a hook where it had broken and it caught and I just had to yank it. Then a red line formed on my toe, under the nail, only I have soooo little money that I didn't try to come and see you. Instead, I got Epsom salts and Vitamin C. I soaked my foot for about four hours a day each day for about a week, and I ate a couple small bottles of Vitamin C. The lines (there were three at one point, all quite tidy lines that looked as precise as if they’d been drawn using a ruler) seemed to get fainter; there wasn’t any swelling and mostly I didn’t feel like I had a fever. Then, so much time had passed that I thought there was nothing to worry about. Only on Thursday, September 30, I got major, extremely painful cramps in all the muscles around my waist area. It was so painful that I actually cried out. I thought it was because I was so cold because I didn’t want to put heat on when I don’t have money. And I also wondered if it was from bad food. I don’t know if you know this or not, but the food that is given to people who need food is largely expired and somewhat rotten and spoiled. The eggs, for instance, were all cloudy and after I ate some of them last month I decided it was just too risky. But I couldn’t remember on Thursday of this week what I’d eaten from the food box on Wednesday. Oh, you should probably also know that the food generally includes several loaves of bread and dozens of donuts, I think there were 4 dozen donuts the first time I got the food. The administrators don’t seem to ask if anyone has diabetes. None of the people I saw there looked very healthy. I think this is pretty appalling to be happening in the United States. I think about my grandfather who was President of the American Farm Bureau Federation when I was little, and how what I remember most about him, besides him being on the radio debating then Secretary of Agriculture Benson, who was later head of the Mormon Church, was that he was so hopeful that American farmers could produce enough food to end hunger world wide. Because he was a Republican and friends with Barry Goldwater, I suppose he would have supported and favored Reagan. But I think that Reagan may be the reason that today Americans think it is okay to give “trickle down” food, as it were, to people in need. Anyway, on Friday my muscles were still tight around my abdomen, and the pain was not at all like when I put my back out, because for one thing it wasn’t around my back. Because your office is closed on Fridays, I called Alice Sisneros, whose receptionist called me back and said that Alice said I should go to the Emergency Room because with a puncture wound it could be serious. So, I went right away, which was around 3 p.m. By nearly 8 p.m. no one had seen me, so I left because I was thinking it was going to be such a huge bill and besides last time I was there, when I’d tried to kill myself, they’d done all the tests but never acted on them, like by telling me I needed B12 shots regularly. So I figured that I might as well leave and check the internet to see if I was supposed to have a fever. The internet said that symptoms could show up months later. It sounded like you could have all the muscle problems and not be expecting them because there wasn’t a major fever. It said that in 60% of untreated cases death occurred, which I thought was hopeful because I could be in the 40%.... The fact is that it’s been a long time since I had a tetanus shot. Whether it’s thirty years or eleven, I can’t be sure. But it’s been over ten. I’m writing this because I can go over it and be sure it’s clear, and that will save me getting confused while I try to give you all the facts in a conversation. I would like to get whatever test there is to identify whether or not I have tetanus. It’s a worry, not knowing. And, I don’t want to wake up some night unable to breath because the muscles in my chest have tightened. Thank you for your ongoing help in such slim pickings times. I’ll call on Monday. (I sent this via email to your web site, per your phone message.) Sincerely,   Karen Kline Copy: St. Vincent Hospital and Alice Sisneros