New to Group

[Guest guest]

I am new to the group and wanted to take a few minutes to introduce my self and

give a somewhat brief overview of my life changing injury that has left me in

horrible pain…each and every day….every passing moment of every hour.  In

February 2007 I was working for the Federal Government and without going into

all the boring details I will cut straight to the point.  I fell 27 feet and

though I am lucky to be alive my horrible nightmare of pain started the day I

had this horrific fall.  I was left paralyzed in my legs for a little while

after the fall but when paramedics arrived they were able to straighten me out

which helped me to regain feeling and control over my legs.  I injured T6/T7

protruding 3mm into my spinal canal, T11/12, and the worst was L4/L5. I tried

all of the non-surgical treatments that the doctors would authorize (PT, LSI and

Facet injections, TENS, etc..) .  Ultimately I went through surgery to remove

the L4/L5 disc and in

its’ place they used the Prodisc TDR (Total Disc Replacement).  Up until I

had the surgery I was in excruciating pain that traveled down both legs and into

my feet.  I also experienced the horrible lower back pain and also constant

tingling in portions of my feet.  Within two days of having the disc

replacement surgery my pain had been reduced from a constant 6 to 7 pain scale

down to a 3 to 4 pain scale.  I did lose a lot of the feeling in my feet and

portions of my calves but this is to be expected when you consider the

complexity of the nerves at the location where the disc was removed.  I was

EXTREMELY happy and was in the process of getting my life back.  I went through

a strenuous work conditioning/hardening program and after just 6 weeks post

surgery my surgeon lifted all light duty restrictions and sent me back to full

duty without any work/light duty restrictions.  Two weeks after the surgery I

stopped taking the Oxycodone, Oxycontin,

muscle relaxers and I no longer needed medication to help me sleep at

night.   It was like a nightmare of pain had finally come to an end and I

could finally start living my life again, taking my kids on outdoor adventures,

playing ball with my kids, living my life to its’ fullest with my children and

wife.  I lived this newfound life full of joy and happiness for the next four

months till one day in November 2008 when I was sitting on the ground and my

legs went numb.  I had immediate flashbacks and horrifying memories of the pain

that was still so fresh in my mind.  I was able to shake off the numbness and

regained feeling in my legs.  Two days later when I woke up for work one

morning the nightmare surfaced with a  vengeance and the pain came on like a

freight train hitting a brick wall.  From then till now the pain has become

progressively worse and I am having to take those HORRIBLE pain meds again.  I

had 4 months of false hope and now

my life has been turned upside down all over again.  My 4 dear children just

do not understand why their daddy is in so much pain and why I cannot live the

life they have dreamed of and only have fond memories of.  It breaks my heart

to see my children suffering because of a work injury that I had no conrtol

over…a work injury that was deemed no fault of my own and one that could not

have been prevented other than me not being in the wrong place at the right

time.  I have again been through so much testing….abnormal EMG, MRI after MRI

showing bad discs and loss of height in the discs above and below my artificial

disc, LSI and FACET injections, etc….  All of this to find out that the

artificial disc is causing all of this pain....causing my body to have an

inflammatory response to the artificial disc….stress on the discs above and

below the artificial disc and much, much more.  To compound the situation T6/T7

is causing horrible pain around

my ribs now and excruciating pain in my middle back.  I was sent in for an

emergency MRI because I had lost feeling in my middle back.  The Orthopedic

Spinal Surgeon who consulted with my on an emergency basis stated that yes this

is causing the horrible pain but there is nothing they can do because operating

on T6/T7 is very risky since they have to go through the chest cavity.  Unless

it causes life threatening symptoms he stated there is not a surgeon who would

risk my life to try and fix the disc.  URGGGGGGGGGG….I am in tears as I type

this email knowing that I do not have much hope for the pain in my legs or

back.  To alleviate some of the pain in my legs the orthopedic surgeons and

second opinion surgeons are recommending that they take the artificial disc out

of my L4/L5 and fuse me from S1 to L2.  This sounds easy enough except it is

another extremely risky surgery that not many surgeons or neurosurgeons have had

experience with.

      So, as you can probably tell from my email, I just want to be able to

talk with others who know what this pain is like.  As you hear time and time

again….this kind of pain cannot be understood or even imagined unless you have

been there to feel it.  Just knowing there is a wonderful group of people who

have shared this pain gives me some hope and time to get my mind off of this

horrible situation.  I guess if I was all alone and did not have the most

wonderful wife in the world and 4 of the most incredible children  it might be

a little easier to deal with.

     Since we do not have any family close by at our current home we are

going to be relocating to Western KY where my parents and siblings live.  This

way we can get some much needed help with a lot of the every day tasks that I

can no longer perform.  I would like to ask the group in any knows of a good

Orthopedic Spine Surgeon or Neurologist who has experience performing back

surgeries.  We will be close to Paducah in KY and sville and Nashville in

TN.  I would love to hear any recommendations you may have.  I need to find a

good surgeon and also a good pain management doctor before we make the move in

May.

 

Take Care,

Greg