Get Robin Rockin’ Again

Hi, my name is Rick Wilkowski, and for the past 26 years, I have been Robin Baker’s partner in life. Robin is suffering from a rare disease called Chronic Inflammation Demyelination Polyneuropathy (CIDP). This disease has rendered her incapable of using her arms and legs in a normal manner.

Robin has been a very active person throughout her entire life, enjoying travel, camping, swimming, going to concerts, dancing, and enjoying a good life. This has all changed due to the CIDP.

For the last 10 years, Robin has suffered from neuropathy in her extremities. In 2020 she retired medically from the State of Montana due to her inability to perform her duties with efficiency. She had seen several doctors to find out why this was happening to her. No medical diagnosis was ever given other than neuropathy and she was prescribed medication to help with the symptoms. In May of 2022, we went to a hot spring spa, as we did for all her birthdays. When it was time to get out of the water, Robin could hardly stand, and needed assistance to get out of the pool. The next weekend while at home, Robin fell and could not stand up by herself. She was examined in the local ER and admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of a rupture disk in the L-3 L-4 region of her back. After transferring to a hospital in Great Falls, she underwent emergency surgery to fuse the L-3 and L-4 vertebrae together to fix the rupture. A neurologist was consulted in and determined she was suffering from CIDP, and that the fall and rupture were a “red herring” of the root cause.

Robin was admitted to the medical ward of the hospital and underwent immunoglobulin therapy (IVIg), with prednisone steroid treatment as well. These treatments caused complications that led to her stay in the hospital lasting almost two months. After her recovery was good enough to continue therapy, Robin was transferred to an intense rehabilitation center. For the next three weeks, she received physical and occupational therapy three times a day. On completion of this treatment, she transferred to a skilled nursing facility for long-term PT and OT sessions. Robin is receiving IVIg treatments every 30 days as an outpatient in the hospital. The treatments last for seven hours and have severe side effects that are monitored back in the nursing care facility.

Currently, Robin is unable to walk on her own and needs a wheelchair and specialized durable medical equipment to transfer from bed to chair. Modifications are needed to the interior and exterior of her house to accommodate handicapped access. This includes widening the bathroom and bedroom doorways and installing a wheelchair ramp at the entrance of the house.

This Go Fund Me account was created to help defer the out-of-pocket costs accumulating every day she is in the nursing care center. Her insurance policy only covered the first 72 days and is now on a self-pay plan at a cost of $400.00 per day for room and board and $75.00 per therapy session three times a week. Robin will be needing the IVIg treatments for the next six months. A reevaluation will be done then for future treatments.

Robin is hoping to be home for the holidays to be closer to friends and family.

From the bottom of my heart, I humbly ask that you share this link with friends and family and if possible, in giving. (any amount will help)

I Thank You for your support and kindness

Rick Wilkowski