203. Danbury 2026
- Jan 15
- 4 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Post # 203: December 16, 2025 - January 15, 2026
It is mid-January and I am still in Danbury. It is not what I envisioned nor planned for the new year. I may write more about the past six weeks, experiences since my last post on December 15 last year, but for now, I am going to provide a brief account.
I have been staying in an apartment next to The Sesame Seed Restaurant. I worked at The Seed circa 1979-1986 and have remained in touch with Dee. I am very fortunate that he offered to let me stay here while I was in Danbury.
The Seed is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Saturday. There are two people running, Dee, the owner, and Heather, who has worked there since the mid 1990s. Heather also makes stickers, cards, t-shirts, and Vegan desserts.
Regarding the issues with the discomfort and pain in my joints, through most of the period the pain level increased. It was in my knees, thighs, hamstrings, hips, pelvis area, ribcage, shoulders, neck, and arms. It was not debilitating, but it reached a point where I had some difficulty getting out of bed and dressing. It’s not that I could not do it, rather there was daily discomfort (pain level 2-3 out of 10) and/or pain (level 4-6) in a wide range of muscles and joints from my knees to my neck. This was true of doing simple things like walking, getting in and out of my van, rolling over in bed, and even the motion of brushing my teeth.
When I left Cleveland, my rheumatologist there, Dr. Harasimowicz, had told me she would remain my rheumatologist until I could find one in Danbury. The earliest appointment I could find was January 22. But things had progressed to the point that I went to the Department of Rheumatology office in person on Tuesday, January 6 and asked if I could see someone sooner. Fortunately, I was told I could come in the next day and see Dr. Wolinski-Friedman.
We met for about forty minutes. She had reviewed my medical records and recent bloodwork (which include information that indicated rheumatoid arthritis or autoimmune diseases were not likely), listened to me describe the onset and progression of my symptoms, and did a physical exam of my range of motion. She said she thought I had PMR, polymyalgia rheumatica. She seemed quite confidant of it. Here is some information about it from arthritis.org.
PMR is also what Dr. H had thought in Cleveland. She had started me on a steroid, prednisone, which is often the treatment for PMR. It helped on the very first day, but on subsequent days my symptoms returned, and it seemed to me the steroid was not helping. Additionally, MRIs were taken of my shoulder. She thought these would help confirm PMR. She saw the results and apparently she did not see any indication of PMR. She had me gradually stop the prednisone. I did notice that two days after I stopped taking it my discomfort increased, so maybe the prednisone was helping to some extent.
At any rate, I communicated all of that to Dr. Wolinski. She inferred that the MRI is not always the best indicator and said perhaps a different formulation and dosage of a steroid would help. She had me start prednisolone on Wednesday, January 7. It helped a great deal right from the start. Today is my ninth day of taking it and I sense I am at about 95% my normal self in terms of range of motion and I have very little discomfort. The dosage will gradually be lowered and we will see what happens. I do not know how long I will have to take it. There are a number of side effects that are issues and need to be monitored.
One other aspect of this is I had a PET scan and bone marrow biopsy done in order to see if there might be any involvement of my smoldering multiple myeloma. The PET scan showed no cancer in the bones or organ tissues. The bone marrow results showed about the same amount of rouge plasma cells as was the case in 2019, when this was first diagnosed, so it appears to not have advanced. Good news.
December seemed very cold to me, winter weather, but according to the data on weather.com it was more or less an average month being two degrees above normal temperatures for the month. This is the first year since 2021 that I was in Danbury in December. I think my perceptions have been affected by my recent experiences with warmer weather over the winter. I have been in southern parts of the country most of the time. There is a psychological aspect. The past few days have seen a rise in temperatures, a temporary change and a welcome one. Winter temps will return in a few days according to the forecast.
Despite my issues with joint pain, it has not much hindered my ability to ride the stationary bike at Planet Fitness. I have ridden thirty of forty days since arriving in Danbury, the equivalent of nearly six hundred miles. And with the steroid doing its thing successfully, my legs feel really good. I am ready to start riding longer. I have also restarted my daily habit of averaging 10K steps per day. Both my bike riding and walking took big hits from late October through the New Year. It feels so good to begin to return to my normal activities.
I also want to hop back into my van and head south. I don’t know when I will be able to do that. I see Dr. Wolinski again on January 29. Time will tell.
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Thx for the update Tom, I was wondering how you were doing. Sorry to hear about your long and painful journey but glad to hear you have a diagnosis and that the steroids have provided relief. I know this will not keep you down as illustrated by your renewed biking and walking. It’s so important, I can totally relate! I too struggle with the cold weather, I gotta say “I hate it”! We are heading for CA in a couple of weeks and will be there until mid April. If you end up out west give a shout, would be great to see you. In the mean time, hang in there, you got this!!
Sorry to hear of the arthritic issue, Tom. That’s what you get for not sitting on the couch all these years. Good that you’re still riding the stationary bike while up north. Sounds like the new med is working if you’re feeling good.
I have to say the warm weather has served me well the past 20 years. I never adjusted to running or biking in the cold. Keep up the good work and I bet you feel better next time you get in some warm weather.
Nice to see in the photo that you stopped for an oil change along the way.
Bob