Description of Event or Problem · 1
SURGERY DATE 2005 IMPLANT CHARITE DISC REPLACEMENT WITH FUSION. IF YOU STILL NEED ANY ADDITIONAL INFO, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. BELOW I WANTED TO TRY TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND MY SITUATION. THAT THIS IS ONGOING, A DAILY STRUGGLE, JUST TO EKE MY WAY THOUGH THE DAYS THE BEST THAT I CAN. I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU UP FRONT FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS AND TO TALK TO ME. IT MEANS SO MUCH. SATURDAY, APPROX THREE MONTHS EARLIER, WAS THE ACCIDENT. MY HUSBAND AND I WERE REAR-ENDED BY A DODGE PICKUP TRUCK. THAT DRIVER REAR-ENDED US GOING BETWEEN 40 - 50M.P.H. WE WERE WEARING OUR SEATBELTS, HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT OF THE OTHER TRUCK OUR SEATS BROKE BACKWARDS. FOLLOWING THE IMPACT, MY HUSBAND AND I WERE EXTREMELY DISORIENTED, DAZED AND STUNNED. WE COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT HAD HAPPENED. I WAS IN DISBELIEVE. ABOUT 40 MINUTES LATER THE E.M.T.'S AND POLICE ARRIVED AT THE SCENE. FOLLOWING THE INITIAL CHECK, WE WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER BY AMBULANCE. ONCE AT THE HOSP, THE DR'S ON CALL TOOK FULL-X-RAYS OF MY ENTIRE SPINE, AND I THINK A CT SCAN WAS ALSO DONE. ON MONDAY, TWO DAYS LATER, WE WERE SEEN AT OUR SURGEON'S OFFICE FOR EVAL. THIS SURGEON IS DR RICHARD HYNES; HE HAD PREFORMED 3 SURGERIES ON ME UP TO THIS POINT, ALL OF THEM ON MY NECK. DR'S' OFFICE TOOK X-RAYS, AND SCHEDULED AN MRI WITH AND WITHOUT CONTRAST. I ALSO FOLLOWED UP WITH MY PRIMARY DR. THE FOLLOWING DAYS AFTER THIS ACCIDENT WERE HORRIBLE. I STARTED TO HAVE EXTREME PAIN IN MY LOWER BACK RADIATING DOWN BOTH LEGS. AS SOON AS MY SCANS CAME BACK, DR HYNES TOLD ME THAT MY L4 - 5, AND L5-S1 DISCS WERE IN TERRIBLE CONDITION. HE ADVISED ME TO HAVE THE NEW CHARITE DISC REPLACEMENT SURGERY WITH POSSIBLY DOING BOTH OF MY DISCS WITH THIS NEW REPLACEMENT. DR DETERMINED BECAUSE OF MY AGE, PHYSICAL HEALTH AND SPEED OF HOW I HEALED ON MY OTHER SURGERIES, THAT THIS WOULD BE THE BEST COURSE OF TREATMENT. ON THIRTEEN DAYS LATER, I HAD A DISCOGRAM DONE BY DR, IN DR'S OFFICE. DURING THIS DISCOGRAM, I WAS STRAPPED TO THE TABLE LAYING MY STOMACH. AS SOON AS DR TOUCHED THAT NEEDLE TO MY SKIN, I WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME. I WAS NOT TOTALLY UNDER'S SEDATION, SORT OF IN BETWEEN. THE PAIN THAT WAS GENERATED BY THIS TEST HURT SO BAD, I WAS CRYING UNCONTROLLABLY BEGGING DR TO STOP THE TEST, BUT SHE DID THE TEST TWO MORE TIMES. ONCE I WAS IN THE RECOVERY ROOM ABOUT 10 MINUTES LATER, I WAS LAYING ON THE BED READY TO GET DRESSED AND REALIZED I COULD NOT STAND UP OR WALK ON MY OWN. MY HUSBAND WAS IN THE WAITING ROOM AND CAME TO HELP ME. THE FUNNY PART WAS THAT DR WAS SO SCARED THAT SHE CAME RUNNING UP TO ME WITH HER PAD TO WRITE ME ANY PRESCRIPTION I WANTED. LIKE THAT IS GOING TO MAKE IT MAGICALLY GO AWAY. EVEN AFTER BOTH OF MY LUMBAR SURGERIES SINCE THAT DAY, I STILL CANNOT WALK UNDER MY OWN POWER; I HAVE TO USE A CANE. THE FOLLOWING MONTH, I WAS SCHEDULED FOR MY DISC REPLACEMENT SURGERY AT THE REGIONAL MED CTR. MY SURGERY WAS SCHEDULED AT 7:30 AM, SO I WAS TO BE AT THE HOSP AT 5:00 AM. I WENT THROUGH THE NORMAL CHECK IN PROCEDURES AND WAS WHEELED UP TO THE PRE-OP ROOM. MY SURGERY TIME CAME AND WENT AND FINALLY AROUND 9:00 AM, MY SURGEON CAME IN TO TALK TO ME. DR STATED THAT MY INSURANCE CO WAS STILL NOT APPROVING MY SURGERY, BECAUSE CO FELT IT WAS EXPERIMENTAL AND WAS LACKING FDA APPROVAL. DR ASSURED ME THAT EVERYTHING WOULD BE OKAY, HE WAS GOING TO STAY ON THE PHONE WITH CO TO GET EVERYTHING CLEARED UP. EVEN THE HEAD OF THE NURSING DEPT CAME OVER TO CHECK ON ME AND STATED THE SAME THING. WELL ABOUT 2 HRS LATER, DR CAME BACK AND SAID "WELL WE ARE STILL WORKING ON IT", AT THAT POINT I STATED TO HIM JUST TO DO A REGULAR FUSION ON BOTH OF THE DISCS, NOT TO IMPLANT THE CHARITE DISC, HE DIDN'T WANT TO HEAR THAT. THEN A SHORT TIME LATER, THE NURSE CAME BACK AND TOLD ME THAT THE CEO OF HOLMES REGIONAL SAID THAT I HAD BEEN PUT THROUGH ENOUGH, TO GO HEAD WITH WHAT DR HYNES WANTED TO DO. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT MY BILL BECAUSE IT WOULD BE APPROVED AND TAKEN CARE OF. SO DR HYNES PROC PROCEEDED TO THE SURGERY. I HAD THE CHARTIE DISC PLACED AT MY L5- - S1 DISC AND A REGULAR FUSION AT L4 - L5 DISC. THIS WAS THE WORSE PAIN AND RECOVERY I HAVE EVER HAD. I DIDN'T HAVE THE CORRECT BRACE FOR MY BACK ALL THAT I WAS GIVEN WAS A CORSET TYPE AND IT WAS A LARGE, I AM A SIZE 5. THIS CORSET BRACE DIDN'T EVEN FIT ME ON THE TIGHTEST SETTING. APPROX EIGHT WEEKS LATER, I WAS SCHEDULED FOR HARDWARE IMPLANTATION SURGERY AT THE REGIONAL MED CTR. THIS MAKES SURGERY NUMBER 5. THE PURPOSE OF THIS SURGERY WAS TO IMPLANT TITANIUM SCREWS AND RODS AT THE L3 - L4 DISC LEVELS. I WAS HOPEFUL THAT THIS HARDWARE WOULD HELP WITH THE STABILITY OF MY BACK, PRAYING THAT IT WOULD REDUCE MY PAIN. SADLY, I WAS UNSUCCESSFUL WITH THAT PRAYER. SINCE MY SURGERIES, I HAVE NOT RETURNED TO DR FOR ANY FURTHER TREATMENTS, HE IS CONFUSED AS TO WHY I HAVE THE AMOUNT OF PAIN THAT I DO. HE ALWAYS SAID TO ME "I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU'RE HAVING SO MUCH PAIN, THIS WAS A TEXTBOOK PROCEDURE." ALL HE WAS CONCERNED WITH WAS MY PAIN MEDICINE AND GETTING ME OFF OF IT. I TOLD HIM I WOULD LOVE TO BE OFF PAIN MEDICINE, IF HE COULD MAKE MY PAIN GO AWAY FIRST. ANOTHER DR, PLEASE UNDERSTAND! THIS IS A TERRIBLE WAY TO LIVE. AND HAVE A LIFE STYLE OF AN 80 YRS OLD. THERE ISN'T ANY DAY THAT I DON'T HAVE PAIN AT AN 8 - 10 ON THE PAIN SCALE. TO THIS DAY I HAVE TO WEAR MY HARD PLASTIC BRACE THAT STARTS BELOW MY BREAST AND ENDS AT MY HIPS EVERY TIME I AM UP WALKING AND SITTING. THIS IS VERY HOT AND CONSTRICTING, BUT IF I DON'T WEAR IT MY BACK FEELS SO UNSTABLE LIKE ITS FALLING BACKWARD WITH A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF PAIN. PLUS, I HAVE TO USE A CANE WHEN I WALK, AND TO HELP ME SIT AND STAND. AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THIS DOESN'T MAKE FOR A PRODUCTIVE LIFE. I CANNOT WORK, I CANNOT EXERCISE, OR SCUBA DIVE ANYMORE, BUT THE WORSE PART IS NOT BEING ABLE TO PLAY WITH MY 6 YR OLD SON THE WAY I WANT TO. TO BE ABLE TO TEACH HIM TO RIDE A BIKE, OR GO SKATING WITH HIM......WELL THIS JUST ISN'T REALISTIC FOR ME AND THAT BREAKS MY HEART. IN CLOSING, I FEEL THAT HAD DR DONE THE SURGERY DIFFERENT, OR LISTENED TO MY REQUEST TO HAVE BOTH DISCS FUSED......I PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE IN THIS SITUATION. THANK GOD THAT I HAD A WONDERFUL PAIN MGMT DR NOW, WHO HAS TAKEN THE TIME TO TRY INJECTIONS, AND DIFFERENT MEDICATION. WE HAVEN'T MADE ANY CURES, BUT TOGETHER WE ARE TRYING WHAT WE CAN. IT'S NICE TO HAVE A DR THAT WILL HELP ME, CAUSE YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED HOW A LOT OF THEM WON'T. (SEE SCANNED PAGES).