[DocJohn]

After her recent painful physical injuries and surgery, kimmydawn has taken stock of her online life and decided to resign her position as Administrator here at NT and instead focus her now-limited online time over at PC. I can understand the decision, as I myself have over-committed my time and abilities to others in the past... It's just one of those things many of us do because we have the willingness and desire, but not always the time or energy.

I want to acknowledge and thank KD for her great efforts here, as without her help here initially, I'm not sure we could've gotten NeuroTalk off to a good and stable start. She has made valuable contributions here and I appreciate her extraordinary efforts both here and over at PC.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank the rest of the Community Support Team for keeping this ship sailing smoothly over the past few months that KD's been gone. Chemar will continue to lead the team moving forward.

We couldn't keep NeuroTalk the wonderful support and information resource it's become (now in its 3rd year, which I can hardly believe!!) without the extraordinary daily efforts of the Community Team and I want to thank them for their time, energy and efforts.

Best,
DocJohn

[mrsD]

Injury and surgery?

I had no idea.

Kimmy, you have been a great help to me and many others here. I am sad to see you are not feeling well.

We do have a wonderful staff here, thanks to you and DocJohn, and they will continue the fine job they are doing daily 24/7 here. Chemar is an excellent admin, compassionate and dedicated. The moderators are visible here and helpful, always.

I hope you recover and at least visit here as a poster, as it would be a shame to lose you completely.

It can't be easy running a board such as this. (or anywhere on the net for that matter). You have done a wonderful job in bringing this board to what it is today.

Enjoy those two new grandchildren and get well!

Love,
mrsD

[ali12]

Wow KD - I am so sorry for everything that you have and are currently going through

Thank you soooo much for all that you have done at the forum - I really do appreciate it. You have done a great job and I can never thank you enough.

I really hope you start feeling better real soon. Take good care of yourself and if you need anything, I am here for you.

Thanks once again!

Alison

[ewizabeth]

Thanks for all the work you've done Kimmy! I hope you'll be feeling better soon!

[Kitty]

Kimmy

I appreciate all your hard work for this site. Although I'm sad to see you go I'm glad that you're taking care of yourself. I know it must have been a hard decision for you to make. You'll come visit us, though, won't you?

[Bannet]

Please take care of yourself.

[kimmydawn]

((((((((((((((((((((( DocJohn )))))))))))))))))))))))))))

((((((((((((((((((( Team and everyone )))))))))))))))))))))

I *do* plan to be back to gain support for myself and family members. There's no better place on the internet to find caring information via people sharing their stories and what they've learned. There just isn't.

I apologize for the "quick disappearance". I woke up one day with my world completely upside...with everything in it focused on finding out what my pain was from then getting it resolved.

I wrote about increasing symptoms in the spinal forum not long before my world changed.

I woke up like any other day, but something woke me up...extreme pain. I knew immediately it was nerve-type pain because I live with Trigeminal Neuralgia. It was horrendous and I tried to to work it the best I could with the tools and meds I had for the TN. There was no managing it.

My left neck, shoulder and arm were as if someone were sticking hot pokers in at certain places...a neverending source of pain it seemed. On day 4 of this (suspecting it was coming from my neck and the two cases of whiplash), I went to the ER where their main concern was my heart since it was on the left side. I wanted to make sure that I was physically safe myself too. Once they ruled that out, I felt relief for the first time with a big shot of dilaudid. When they came to check on me about 40 mins later, the pain was already coming back full-force. They gave me a "top-off" shot of more, but it didn't touch it. I went home in the same pain.

I immediately called my neurolgist/pain management specialist who got me in right away. See, during this time my left arm was very weak in certain movements and the numbess and tingling were severe as well. He examined me, set me up for an epidural steroid injection and sent me for an MRI...giving me an initial dx. consisting of saying that I had herniations in my cervical spine that were pinching nerves.

I went for the MRI the next day where it felt like I was being tortured but made it through. I saw the specialist again two days later with the MRI in hand. It said alot of big words, but basically my neck is a train wreck. I have three herniated discs (one being the biggest culprit pinching the nerve between C6-7) and one bulging. I have stenosis, lateral recess, bulges, etc. One heriniation was contacting, but not compressing, the spinal cord, and one was contracting it (whatever that means).

He gave me the epidural. I have to back up and say that I'd been told twice by physicians that I can *not* have steroids...just can't. I was desperate, though. The pain was so bad that I didn't care about the complications really. I felt *immeidate* relief. My meds were increased...making me foggy-headed.

Though the steroid epidural working immensely in helping the pain, they came at a great cost to me. For about four days, I was mentally, physically, emotionally and cognitively partially just, well, absent. After about four days, I thawed out in those respects, but all of that came back in out of control ways. I had horrible stomach problems, bad muscle spasms everywhere (even so big that twice my leg wouldn't work from spasm), and even contracted thrush because it affected my immune system.

So I just dealt with trying to maintain in different ways while I was sent to see a neurosurgeon and up until the time that I had surgery (which was in the latter part of July). The surgeon said I really had little options in doing the surgery because I had significant weakness in my triceps. I guess that says something about the degree of damage to the drs.

I went through my surgery with flying colors. I was/am so blessed. My recovery is going well and they'll be taking an x-ray to check fusion on the 22nd of this month. I hope it's going well. I have to use a bone growth stimulator, so I'm hoping it's going well.

I'm almost back to me. I still have some nerve pain in chest area (and arm pit) and left wrist. I still have some numbness in first two fingers. However, the bad stuff is gone. I have to be careful about how long I sit at the computer, how much typing I do, etc., because I can notice the pain ramping and I still have some herniations/bulges in there that we're waiting on to heal.

I have to tell anyone who is looking at cervical fusion that I had nothing but the best experience, and it was the best thing I've ever done for myself. Shoot, when I woke up, I didn't even know which side the incision was on...there was zero incision pain.

So that's what I've been up to these last few months while I've been absent from my duties, and I'm so sorry that it was just like I dropped off the face of the earth. I kept telling myself every day that the next day would be better...that I'd be back to normal.

Though I'm closer to normal now, I still have to be careful and will be limiting my computer time to avoid further damage.

All that said, I come back to the first paragraph...there's no better place on the internet for information, support and shared experience, so I will definitely be back!!!! I'll be back as a member...to care, share my experiences and knowledge, participate in this wonderful membership.

Thank you so much for the kind words and always know that NT, the members, the team will always have a special place in my heart.

KD

[who moi]

Dear kimmy,

what do one say when one of their own is suffering?

what do one say when one of their own is leaving?

they can only feel sad and then try to be as understanding as they can and let the one leaving/suffering know how much they are cared about.

in this global village that we live in, how lucky that each one of us that have found NT are able to be guided by such wonderful admin and mod team?

things happen for reasons beyond normal human comprehensions yet there is something that connects us all: care and friendship and love.

you'll be missed greatly but it is so good to hear that you'll not be far from us and that you'll come "visit" as evanesce will not become you. LOL

life is a motion of waves and we all have to do what we have to do as the waves go up and down, for now, it maybe a down wave for you, but we'll keep praying for you that your wave goes up in the near future...

and thanks for all you've done for the community. I am sure you've done a lot behind the scenes to keep this community the wonderful community that it is...

please take good care of yourself.

((((BIG HUGS))))
(see, I can get through a whole post without making a joke. )

[SandyC]

Kimmy, good to see you and happy to hear your surgery went well. You take care of you.

[Pamster]

I don't know what to say KD, You've always been so helpful and sweet, to hear you've suffered such terrible pain is tragic. I hope your recovery sees you to as painfree as you can possibly get. I am really sad to see you go but I know you're doing the right thing, taking care of YOU right now is all that matters, we'll be here, like DocJohn said, it's already been three years! We'll be here in three more and then some.

Bless you for all you've done here to make NT a fun and safe place to particpate in. Bless all of the NT staffers for all the hard work they put into running this important board. Thank you.