Oh Well, I knew this was too good to be true!!

He goes to the gym 3 or 4 times a week, exercises his brains out, lifts weights up to the kazoo, is on his way to getting a new body!!!!

and then.......


He's about to go on a job interview when he misses a curb and goes flying and lands on his upper back. Said, he couldn't feel the curb!!!

This happened at about 7:45 a.m. this morning. I was still sleeping and this fall happened around the corner from our home.

He came home to clean himself up. Do you think he would wake me up and tell me "I had an accident"!!!!?

God Forbid!!!!. He goes back out and goes into NYC for the job interview. Turns out the Security Guard Firm that he thought was a Security Guard Firm was nothing more than an employment agency that took a $169 processing fee and sent him on wild good chases to different companies only to be told "no, we only take applications online". Give me a break!!!

so he calls me and says "I had an accident'. I said "what!!!!" Then I find out he came home right after the accident and because I was sleeping and I once told him "don't wake me up under penalty of death", he thought he would go back out. After practically killing him for his thinking process, I rubbed him all over with Tiger Balm and he's resting on the recliner.

I bet tomorrow he'll be black and blue like crazy. I checked, no broken anything (he would be screaming, right? He's just sore as hell!!!!

Oh, I have an important question for all you knowledgable people out there.

There is a procedure done by surgeons:

Here's the link to that site...

http://www.spineonline.com/

Alan had gone online and watched the video. I was intrigued so I made the phone call. Seems all the surgeons are in the West coast because the East Coast surgeons are more conservative.

I read the doctor at the other end of the line, Alan's mri report. As soon as I read the line that said: "L3/4 and L4/5 disc bulges causing small ventral impression upon the thecal sac and partially compromising the adjacent neural foramina bilaterally, he stopped me and said the following:

"From what you just read to me, Alan's problem is quite fixable, since we go through the Foramina".

So naturally we got all excited and we said "Do they do this surgery in NYC? and he said "we come to NY to do this on people". This guy, (Darren) was very very nice and informative.

I put Alan on and Alan told him he had insurance and Darren said "You will have to go through something called a Point of Service where you have to go outside your network. They cover this on special ocasions."

Then Alan told him he was on a Medicare HMO. The guy said sadly. "We don't take any medicare HMO's, and I doubt there is a medicare HMO that will approve this surgery because most of the surgeons who do this are on the West coast. I then asked "how much does this surgery cost and he said $25,000.

I asked him "what if I went online and tried to find a surgeon in NY that does this"? He responded (and he was most sincere).

Melody, when you speak to any surgeon make sure you ask them the following: "Does the operation involve taking any of the bone, or Lamina? There should be no lamina to be removed!!! The surgeon should not say to you "oh, perhaps we might take a little of the bone". Darren said "Melody, we don't touch the bone. Not even a little bit. Make sure you get that absolutely straight if you talk to any surgeon"

So, my dear friends on these boards, if any of you can check out this website and tell me if you have heard of this non-invasive surgery, (and if any of you have an extra $25,000 lying around you might want to do this for yourself).

It seems on the website, it tells you if you are a candidate or not!!!

So any comments are welcome.

I am now going to go and kill Alan for not waking me up this morning!!!


MEN!!!!!!!!!


mel

You know Mel, I can't address the surgery..or other spinal issues. YOu should
post on the Spinal forum here... for other comments.

But I took a terrible spill 2 weekends ago... visiting my son's new townhouse.
There was a step in the middle of a long walkway...sort of hidden. And I was helping carrying bags of groceries...and whammmmooo.. I really fell painfully.
Alot of road rash... but my chest and stomach felt really badly....I thought I broke something for sure. But lots of ice later, and some ibuprofen, and a little Vodka...and I felt able to walk and drive home.(actually my husband drove).

The next five days were agony, esp my left side (opposite where I fell on the right). But you know, I am back to normal. What a gift that was. I did not have any visible bruises. But alot of skin had to heal up(and there was bleeding). . And I pulled alot of muscles and couldn't sit up well etc. Those numb footiedooties...they'll trip you up any old time!

When people work out, and get in shape, alot of injuries can be just temporary.

Any pain that lingers, should be checked out, however. But falls? They come with the PN.

Whooo Mrs.D,
When I was reading your post, I grimaced so bad because I thought OH NO !!! she's hurt herself badly again. I am so glad you are not seriously injured. Please be careful and take care of yourself.

Love,
Billye

You know Billye... at the time I thought I was sunk...
And I thought I had really hurt myself big time. I thought I had broken a rib, or cracked my breastbone---that is where it hurt so much.

But you know what settled out? The fall I had over a year ago was on the
left side. And I had a nagging lower back thing--inspite of my PT and all..that was really limiting my
mobility. (never had lower back stuff before)... It was getting a bit better
this summer..with my extra gardening etc...BUT...still not good.

Well, when I took this very embarrassing fall (in front of a long time friend
of my son's, and my son and husband).. sheeeesh it was degrading...
and I thought I was doomed...All guys and all rolling their eyes ..etc. It was really degrading.

After the stiffness on the left side of my abdomen loosened up, guess what?
I felt sooooo much better! My back does not bother me at all now. So I have been thinking that the right/sided fall, must have pushed things "back" to some extent? My right knee cap is still tender, but I BioFreeze it every night and it seems okay most of the day. That is the only thing I have left to show for the spill.

But you know, no matter how much "better" we feel, those numb feet still are a major source of potential falls. All folks here should really watch it, and don't become over confident!

Thanks for your concern!
And I am much much better. If Mel hadn't posted this, I would have just
been silent about it...since it was SO DEGRADING. I've asked my son to
paint that strange step that is in the middle of nowhere, orange. I hope he does it before I visit next time! <wink>

Alan just came up to me and said the following:

"Another reason I didn't wake you up and tell you that I fell was because, since I wasn't in any pain, I just figured the fall knocked my bulging discs back into place and my neuropathy went away".

I just looked at him....and he went to college no less.....


oy vey!!!
Melody

Alan and Mrs. D., I'm so sorry you both had such painful and frightening experiences. I hope no serious damage is done and you both heal from your bruises quickly.

Thank you David and everybody who sent us their warm wishes.

Alan will be fine. I take very good care of my Alan. We only have each other and thankfully there's always Tiger Balm.

That stuff is really good!!!

be well

mel

I know I'm spelling this word wrong but here's the jist of what just happened!!1

A woman from the spine place (where Darren works), well, she's from the New York Office.

She just called Alan and told him to fax Darren the mri report. Alan just did it.

I asked Alan, "why on earth would you fax a report to a person knowing that we don't have $25,000".

Alan's reply???? "well, she told me I could go to Russia for the operation, it would cost much much less, and it would take 3 weeks recovery". I just looked at him. (I couldn't care less if it cost $10,000, we don't have it).

I kept saying "Russia, Russia??? are you serious?" He goes, "and this one, well, I'm going alone". I said to him "you don't have passport". He goes, "I'll get one". "And I'll have a year to save up the money".

So as it stands, Alan is in the other room contemplating going to Russia to have his spine operated on.

I think the fall on his back yesterday loosened a screw in his head!!!!

mel

Check out THAILAND!!! From all I've seen and heard, well, the recovery is done at 'da beach at luxury resorts....If you are going to 'blow the wad' check out the alternatives...Russia in the winter of Thailand on the beach...no-brainer to me....Just keep a cynical frame of mind in terms of diagnoses and treatments....some folks, well, if it's out of country, or in country and not covered...there are no guarantees that they are even doing appropriate stuff! AND, NO RECOURSE should things really get mucked up!

IF I thought I could get some magic treatment at either...well I'd explore, crunch numbers, check the odds and need for same... but it is like so many other 'black holes'-lots of promise no documentation[research #'s that are VIABLE] and well, no real fuzzies attached.

More to the root, What's changed between yesterday's fall and today going to Russia? Something has to have infected prior thinking? Or was it an invisible 2x4?

Hugs to you both - j

Well, isn't this interesting?? After telling him "you'll be sore tomorrow when you wake up because you really had a bad fall", I rubbed tiger balm all over him last night.

He woke up and said "what on earth were you talking about, I feel fine".

Maybe a little sore, near his shoulder blades, and the big purple bruise on the back of his leg, is going away also.

Don't know if it's the tiger balm, I do know that I just bought another little jar of it for $3.88 cents.

Maybe it's because Alan has found religion and is a true believer.

I have no idea. I'm just happy that when he fell, he didn't dislocate anything.
He just told me he did a 100 session on the health rider. I said "Are you nuts, you fell yesterday" he went "but I feel fine".

Good God!!!!

Oh, and this is funny. This just happend one hour ago.
I was going to cook a chicken and turned on my oven. My carbon monoxide detector started to do one beep every 30 seconds. I didn't know what to do so I called 311. The person said Turn off your oven immediately".

I replied "But I'm cooking a chicken". She said "That chicken will cook you if you don't turn off the oven". "And don't light any matches". I told her "I'm not planning to light anything". Then she said "I must connect you with the Fire Department. I just stayed on the phone. The fire department person came on the phone and asked what the emergency was. I just said "well, my carbon monoxide thing is beeping one beep every 30 seconds." He goes "we'll be right there". I expected one guy to come in my house and check my oven.

Well, two fire trucks come down my block. Ten firemen (with all gear and axes), come in my house. They were all over 6 feet 5 inches tall and I'm going "but all I want to do is cook my chicken". The guy has some little gadget and he's going around my home, in all my rooms and he goes 'ALL CLEAR". Then he says to me "change the batteries". I said "but I just checked and they say 2010".

He goes "all that means is to use before 2010" They are drawing power all the time.. I kept apologizing and they were so sweet. Then I said "oh my cousin is a fireman, he just went from being a probie to a full fireman over in Staten Island. They went 'oh, that's terrific".
Then my landlord knocked on my door, all white as a ghost, found us laughing and I had to explain (in italian yet), that my batteries were dying.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Then I went around the corner to my friend's house, and we're talking about what just happened and two fire trucks come down her block. I go "oh my god, they followed me here". She said "what".

but the didn't want me, Some house had some gas leak or something.
I just ran home.

Too much excitement!!! and besides.

I had my chicken cooking!!!!!!

mel