There is a sad but also hopeful article about Lucinda Ruh article in the October 2005 Blades on Ice, Volume 16, Number 1, pages 58-59. The article is entitled "The Queen of Spins Battles (Her) Back" and is by Kelly Behning.
Unfortunately, the article is not in BOI's online issue and for copyright reasons I can't copy it for you here. But I can give you a summary of the article.
Ruh states that she fractured a vertebra in her back in 1999 at the World Championships when she fell practicing her 3Lutz. At the time, Ruh was 19. She competed with several cortisone injections to her back but said she could barely walk to the Kiss & Cry area after doing her LP.
Despite severe pain from her neck to her lower back, unfortunately, the fractured vertebra went undiagnosed by doctors for seven years. They told Ruh the pain was "in her head." Despite the pain and debilitation--Ruh says there were days she could barely walk--she pushed herself and said she didn't listen to her body. "I would never rest," Ruh said. In fact Ruh toured with Stars on Ice in 2002 despite the severe pain. Only as time went on and she kept getting worse did Ruh realize that she had to listen to her body.
After seven years she finally got more tests, including MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging) and the problems with her back were correctly diagnosed. Because the fracture had been misdiagnosed for so long, not only had the fracture not healed but also two discs were degenerating. The author states that because of the length of time the fracture went undiagnosed, Ruh's back may never heal.
On top of all this, when Ruh was in China (the year is unclear), she develped some kind of intestinal infection. For one week out of every month Ruh says that she would be in bed with terrible stomach cramps, pain, and other symptoms. Again, the problem went undiagnosed, this time for many months. Onlly when Lucinda returned to the US and consulted new doctors was the large amount of infection in her small intestine found and appropriately treated.
However, apparently all the pain, illness, and lack of rest, Ruh says she now has chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. [See below for definitions.] This occurred when Ruh was living in Los Angeles. She decided she needed to go someplace that would be conducive to healing, so she went to Kailua Koma, Hawaii. The move was a positive experience and Ruh says she felt that at age 26 she was finally on the road to recovery.
The article then goes into detail about Ruh's approach to healing herself, her activities since recovering more of her energy, and her move back to New Jersey. This is not in the article, but I know Ruh was a guest artist with Ice Theatre of New York from Oct. 17 through 21.
About.com's website on CFS and FM provides the following definitions for each. I've probided just the short definitions; for further information go to the URLs provided.
http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/articles/a/cfs1.htm
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a condition characterized by the primary symptom of a prolonged, persistent debilitating fatigue not relieved by rest and not directly caused by other conditions. In general, a diagnosis for CFS requires that the tiredness is severe enough for at least a 50% decrease in the patient’s ability to participate in ordinary activities.
http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/articles/a/fibromyalgia.htm
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by tenderness in localized areas of the neck, spine, shoulders, and hips sometimes referred to as tender points or pressure points.
I know for myself, Lucinda Ruh has always been a very special skater. I was fortunate enough to see her live in 2002 both with "Stars, Stripes, and Skates" and SOI, as well as twice more since then with Ice Theatre of New York. Knowing now that she was skating with the severe pain of a fractured spine, I am even more impressed with Ruh. Not only is watching her spinning a transcendant experience, at least for me, but in the SOI group numbers, she was so fast, her edge work was so wonderful, and she had such a regal yet warm quality on the ice.
I'm glad she was able to skate with Ice Theater of NY this week and wish her all the best in her future endeavors. When I worked in health care, I saw the devastation a misdiagnosed injury or illness could cause for a person. I think it's a testament to Lucinda's strength as a person that although she admits she didn't "listen" to her body in the beginning and just "kept pushing" herself--common, in my experience, for a lot of skaters, gymnasts, dancers, and the like, especially for those with high self motivation--that Ruh eventually realized she had to find a place to heal herself. Fortunately she had the financial resources to live in Hawaii long enough to rest and heal as much as possible.
Sounds like she really went through a nightmare. If you can get a hold of the October issue of BOI, IMO, the full article is worth it. Finally, good luck, Lucinda.
Rgirl
Unfortunately, the article is not in BOI's online issue and for copyright reasons I can't copy it for you here. But I can give you a summary of the article.
Ruh states that she fractured a vertebra in her back in 1999 at the World Championships when she fell practicing her 3Lutz. At the time, Ruh was 19. She competed with several cortisone injections to her back but said she could barely walk to the Kiss & Cry area after doing her LP.
Despite severe pain from her neck to her lower back, unfortunately, the fractured vertebra went undiagnosed by doctors for seven years. They told Ruh the pain was "in her head." Despite the pain and debilitation--Ruh says there were days she could barely walk--she pushed herself and said she didn't listen to her body. "I would never rest," Ruh said. In fact Ruh toured with Stars on Ice in 2002 despite the severe pain. Only as time went on and she kept getting worse did Ruh realize that she had to listen to her body.
After seven years she finally got more tests, including MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging) and the problems with her back were correctly diagnosed. Because the fracture had been misdiagnosed for so long, not only had the fracture not healed but also two discs were degenerating. The author states that because of the length of time the fracture went undiagnosed, Ruh's back may never heal.
On top of all this, when Ruh was in China (the year is unclear), she develped some kind of intestinal infection. For one week out of every month Ruh says that she would be in bed with terrible stomach cramps, pain, and other symptoms. Again, the problem went undiagnosed, this time for many months. Onlly when Lucinda returned to the US and consulted new doctors was the large amount of infection in her small intestine found and appropriately treated.
However, apparently all the pain, illness, and lack of rest, Ruh says she now has chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. [See below for definitions.] This occurred when Ruh was living in Los Angeles. She decided she needed to go someplace that would be conducive to healing, so she went to Kailua Koma, Hawaii. The move was a positive experience and Ruh says she felt that at age 26 she was finally on the road to recovery.
The article then goes into detail about Ruh's approach to healing herself, her activities since recovering more of her energy, and her move back to New Jersey. This is not in the article, but I know Ruh was a guest artist with Ice Theatre of New York from Oct. 17 through 21.
About.com's website on CFS and FM provides the following definitions for each. I've probided just the short definitions; for further information go to the URLs provided.
http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/articles/a/cfs1.htm
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a condition characterized by the primary symptom of a prolonged, persistent debilitating fatigue not relieved by rest and not directly caused by other conditions. In general, a diagnosis for CFS requires that the tiredness is severe enough for at least a 50% decrease in the patient’s ability to participate in ordinary activities.
http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/articles/a/fibromyalgia.htm
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by tenderness in localized areas of the neck, spine, shoulders, and hips sometimes referred to as tender points or pressure points.
I know for myself, Lucinda Ruh has always been a very special skater. I was fortunate enough to see her live in 2002 both with "Stars, Stripes, and Skates" and SOI, as well as twice more since then with Ice Theatre of New York. Knowing now that she was skating with the severe pain of a fractured spine, I am even more impressed with Ruh. Not only is watching her spinning a transcendant experience, at least for me, but in the SOI group numbers, she was so fast, her edge work was so wonderful, and she had such a regal yet warm quality on the ice.
I'm glad she was able to skate with Ice Theater of NY this week and wish her all the best in her future endeavors. When I worked in health care, I saw the devastation a misdiagnosed injury or illness could cause for a person. I think it's a testament to Lucinda's strength as a person that although she admits she didn't "listen" to her body in the beginning and just "kept pushing" herself--common, in my experience, for a lot of skaters, gymnasts, dancers, and the like, especially for those with high self motivation--that Ruh eventually realized she had to find a place to heal herself. Fortunately she had the financial resources to live in Hawaii long enough to rest and heal as much as possible.
Sounds like she really went through a nightmare. If you can get a hold of the October issue of BOI, IMO, the full article is worth it. Finally, good luck, Lucinda.
Rgirl
