I waved her offer away nonchalantly, perhaps being a little macho, as I thought my pain and Thalidomide damage wasn’t significant. But I didn’t get any better, so a few months and several packets of painkillers later I stood at the entrance to the Red Cross Hospital in Stockholm as Patient X.

I took a lift equipped with its own voice up to the EX-Center’s information unit (for which the Swedish Thalidomide Society, NGO is a principal), and to the latter’s office.  There I was welcomed by industrious staff members Ann, Hanna, Marie, and the eminent medical secretary Peter Ståhl.  Registration was taken care of by the EX-Center coordinator.  After a brief examination, I received the key to my patient room, which turned out to be a cosy loft flat with a kitchenette. I unpacked my bag and studied the schedule that had been sent to me.

A gentle start with Elve, the psychologist

The first item on my schedule was a session with a psychologist. What an easy way to start, I thought – to sit and chat with a psychologist. Before I came to Stockholm I had filled in a questionnaire with a lot of questions about my handicap and my pain. Elve Wirma held this questionnaire in one hand when I stepped into her room. We went through the paper with my answers to the questions. Slowly we drifted into a long, intimate conversation about my entire life situation.  Impressed and euphoric, I left Elve after almost two hours of talking.

The following day began with a flying start at eight o’clock in the morning. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Peter Köhler studied me and my bared torso (hold in my stomach, hold in my stomach, I chided myself).  Carefully and professionally, Peter Köhler examined me, asking a steady stream of related questions. After only a few seconds he found a pinched nerve in my left elbow. Before I had a chance to pull on my shirt, he made a comment on the excess ”yellow muscles” on my belly.  My visit to him resulted in two referrals (one to a hand surgeon and one to the MRI department at SU/Sahlgrenska in Göteborg), and a letter to my employer about my work situation. On my way out of the room I promised Peter Köhler that I would start to exercise in order to deal with the ”yellow muscles”. He responded with a cryptic smile.

Occupational therapy – the name didn’t sound very inviting. But it was the next item on my schedule, and it was in that direction that I headed past the hospital’s various floors in the talking lift. Cheerful occupational therapists Anita Stockselius and Christina Ragnö welcomed me with open arms. We talked about my work environment, my workplace, various work tasks, and so on. They asked me to sit down at a computer, just as I usually sit at work or at home, and write a few lines.

”Wrong! Wrong!” they burst out in chorus. I looked quickly at the screen to see if I’d made a spelling error, but found none.  
” You’re sitting all wrong,” explained Christina in a reassuring tone. I was sitting with hands and arms dangling in the air, without supporting my elbows on the desk.

”One arm weighs about eight kilos, and the pressure on the neck musculature then becomes about 50 kilos,” they explained to me. I could really feel how the pain in my neck increased at their information. With some very simple pointers and small assistive devices Christina and Anita transformed my ”all-wrong” workplace to an ergonomically correct one. Enthusiastic and somewhat shocked, I left the zealous and considerate girls on the bottom floor.

”and then we squeeeeeze”

Next I was at the mercy of physical therapist Anna von Essen. We talked about my physical condition and my arm/joint flexibility. Then she showed me various movement patterns, and together we worked out a suitable computer-initiated exercise program for my infirmities and pains. 

By this time I was full of new impulses, ideas, and enthusiasm, and a little post-training stiffness had begun to spread through me after the physical therapy visit. The day neared its end, and it was time for my discharge from the  EX-Center and the Red Cross Hospital.  Together with people from all the units of the EX-Center team, we had a good concluding discussion. Oddly enough, it never really felt that we had parted. At home I continued the treatment plan, and in the background I kept hearing all the wise words and good advice I had been given at the EX-Center in Stockholm... even remembering the words of the talking lift.

In conclusion, I would like to say that EX-Center, which is run in collaboration by the Swedish Thalidomide Society, NGO and the Red Cross Hospital, is a unique operation. It offers special treatment for people with mild Thalidomide effects who have repetitive strain injury and pain. By the time I left EX-Center I had been thoroughly tended to by people who have an enormous knowledge of Thalidomide effects, multiple extremity damage and the consequences of these. It would have taken me months to accomplish the same results through my local healthcare centre or hospital, with subsequent referrals and waiting times for other instances. At EX-Center all the specialists are gathered under one roof. In only two concentrated days everything was taken care of – a session with an eminent specialist doctor, a session and an investigation with an experienced psychologist, a run-through of workplace improvements with skilled occupational therapists, and an individually adapted exercise program from a qualified physical therapist. 

In the end you have a personally adapted overall solution for correcting and preventing pain and the causes of it.  All of this is designed individually for you, and to help you out there is an exclusive panel of experts. What are you waiting for? Make an appointment!  

Patient X