When Rebecca Jester, 45, got sick for more than a year, she worried how long she would live in pain. “I couldn’t get out of bed,” she explains. “I was so tired. My feet hurt. I hated to put my feet on the floor. It hurt to walk, hurt to move. I thought I had something really bad.” When she went to doctors for help, Rebecca says everyone was baffled at what to do for her. “I couldn’t get anyone to help me.” Then she remembered Utica Park Clinic family physician, Dr. George Pendell. Rebecca had worked in Dr. Pendell’s office previously as a registered medical assistant. “If anyone could figure it out, it would be Dr. Pendell.”
In addition to pain, Rebecca suffered from very poor circulation in her hands and feet. She also had an unexplained rash on her legs. “He wanted to help me,” adds Rebecca. “Dr. Pendell researched it and called several doctors.” Finding a specialist who could test Rebecca for the conditions Dr. Pendell believed were causing her symptoms, he continued to oversee Rebecca’s care. She was diagnosed with a number of complicated and complex conditions - rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatoid vasculitis, churg-strauss syndrome vasculitis, Sjogrens syndrome, Raynauds disease, subacute cutaneous lupus, and lupus – and is now receiving the care she needs.
“I am so thankful to have a doctor who cares,” shares Rebecca of Dr. Pendell’s dedication to helping her. “It makes me feel special. It makes me feel that he cares. He always listens.”