Surgery Log – 3/29/13 – Forgiveness

March 29, 2013 – Forgiveness

For some reason I was thinking of all the screw-ups perpetrated by so many doctors and I started to get angry and resentful. It first started with Dr. H, who basically blew me off when I told him numerous times, that my whole body was killing me. Looking back, this was due to the spinal stenosis. He kept ignoring me and ordered a stupid regular x-ray, when he should’ve referred me out. Then when I went to Dr. G, he said he didn’t want to step on the toes of Dr. H, so again I was blown off. I finally referred myself to Augusta Back where the travesty continued. First I saw Dr. B, a D.O. who finally ordered an MRI. It showed spinal stenosis so he did epidural steroid injections, which worked a little but not enough. He then referred me to the surgeon and I then had a lumbar laminectomy, which was successful but didn’t address underlying symptoms too. In fact, I was worse as time went on, only to be told over and over that the spinal nerve just had to heal. Then after 2 months, they finally started to say that there was nothing that could be done and they had no idea why I wasn’t getting any better. At that point, I was hobbling with a cane, with no balance, causing me to fall at the drop of a hat. My foot was dropped and my leg was partially paralyzed so that I literally could not lift it up without using my hands. They dismissed me to a pain management doctor because I was also suffering with unbearable nerve pain in my abdomen, back, both legs and feet. My life turned to a living hell. Luckily the pain doctor told me he could not help me either. At first I was angry but now I am so lucky because I finally got sent back to the original doctor, Dr. B. He actually took time to stop and think about my symptoms and decided that it just might be coming from the thoracic spine. Sure enough, after a thoracic MRI, he discovered a small meningioma, pressing on T3 of my spinal cord. This was what was causing all the symptoms, including a weak right leg and all that nerve pain. I finally decided to go back to the surgeon, who, in my estimation owed me a huge apology for not looking any further for an explanation regarding why the hell I could not walk. She performed the surgery, which was much, much, more painful and complicated than the first, but Dr. B was right; the compressed spinal cord in the thoracic area was the culprit. To this day, I cannot fathom why the surgeon treated me like I was a nutcase and did not bother to investigate further. It would have been so simple to just think about it and order a thoracic MRI. I do not know why that was not even in the realm of possibility for her and why nobody else would actually listen to my symptoms. Here’s the thing, I could spend all my time being angry and resentful or I could be extremely grateful that at least I found the doctor who finally got it right. I wasted so much time being crippled and sad, so I don’t want to waste any more with being resentful. I prayed to God for me to find a doctor who could help me and my prayers were answered—that’s all I know now. I am grateful over and over, each time I do a simple thing like walk across a room, unassisted.

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