Oh, to have been a fly on THAT wall!

Doc

Good grief, get to another doctor fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know a 10 year old that had tears from a car accident and was fused. Nobody is to young for that. He just doesn't want to be the one to do it. See the best neruo surgeon you can. Get even more opinions and document everything. All the pain, everything you can think of. complaining to him isn't getting anywhere at all for you. He is there to help you and it is not doing that. Go for more opinions, or to the ER until somebody listens to you. I sure here your pain, but you must be pro-active to get the real help you need. I also know a gal that is horseback riding after terrible back surgery. There is hope for this, and less pain in life if you fight for it. If you just sit at home in pain, nothing will change. do you have support to go with you? Do you have a friend to go to the new neruo surgeon with you, or orthopedica surgeron, or physiasist? There are lots of fields of medicine to explore. I took the hit financially, and had no health insurance. I did it anyway, as my life was on the line, and so was the quality of my life. I refused to let it get me into bed for the rest of my life. I admit I am not perfect, but a heck of a lot better than I was. NT helped me too, to find the heart and guts to move forward and go to the new doctor and get the surgery. I have no regrets, pain and all. I sure hope you go forward and get more appointments. Let them charge it, put it on a card, do what ever you have to, get the quality of life you deserve. I am here for you at NT. Keep me posted on how you are doing. ginnie

A 10 yr old's spine is still growing. I gotta wonder how that was done?

Doc

Cboncal, you need a *really good attorney* because sounds like almost you should have had emergency surgery when it happened. If you are in CA, they are nasty, the Workers comp system. Insist on a neuro specialist who does that kind of surgery. The AMEs are nut jobs.

And they are right, they *usually* don't do any kind of surgery on someone as young as you because it would fail eventually and you would have to have surgery redone.

Keep us informed.
m

Yes! I was with this 10 year old yesterday. There are horses on the causeway, that have this riding club for injured young people. She was torn at C1-2, and hernited at C6-7. She was fused at C1-2 or she would have been paralized. I don't think she had any choice on the matter. I go to the causeway as often as I can go, to see the horses. I so much want to go riding again as I use to have a horse in Missouri. Sam was an American Saddle bred horse, and he was old, 17, but a good old boy. If I get out of this place and move out to Myakka, I may just yet find someone with a horse and get on again. I am not sure what my neuro surgeon would think about that. this young girl of 10 is, is there hope I can at 60 years old fused at C3-7? They ride in the water, so a fall is not all that dangerous like on land. I think that is part of this whole therapy they do. Falls would be in deeper water, up to the flanks. In fact they all go swimming on their horses. Next time I go down there, I will try to not be too nosey, but ask this young girls father (who told me about it) how this fusion works with a growning girl. I do not know exactly what they did about C6-7. I didn't ask. I was amazed this kid was riding after such a severe accident. ( A bit jealous too). If I get up the nerve, maybe I will ask about this riding club. They were all young, under 20, I wonder if I could join? ginnie

Today i called my p.m. doctor and told her that at night the percocets (10 mg) are not working. told her i am still in alot of pain i am having a hard time sitting again and i just dont want to deal with this anymore she told me to double up on them if i need to. i said i would rather have somehting that worked right of the bat.. She told me to call the surgeon. I am so sick of these doctors being afraid to prescribe what is needed . The surgeon told me to get something stronger till i could get into him...

[
QUOTE=ginnie;902868]Good grief, get to another doctor fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know a 10 year old that had tears from a car accident and was fused. Nobody is to young for that. He just doesn't want to be the one to do it. See the best neruo surgeon you can. Get even more opinions and document everything. All the pain, everything you can think of. complaining to him isn't getting anywhere at all for you. He is there to help you and it is not doing that. Go for more opinions, or to the ER until somebody listens to you. I sure here your pain, but you must be pro-active to get the real help you need. I also know a gal that is horseback riding after terrible back surgery. There is hope for this, and less pain in life if you fight for it. If you just sit at home in pain, nothing will change. do you have support to go with you? Do you have a friend to go to the new neruo surgeon with you, or orthopedica surgeron, or physiasist? There are lots of fields of medicine to explore. I took the hit financially, and had no health insurance. I did it anyway, as my life was on the line, and so was the quality of my life. I refused to let it get me into bed for the rest of my life. I admit I am not perfect, but a heck of a lot better than I was. NT helped me too, to find the heart and guts to move forward and go to the new doctor and get the surgery. I have no regrets, pain and all. I sure hope you go forward and get more appointments. Let them charge it, put it on a card, do what ever you have to, get the quality of life you deserve. I am here for you at NT. Keep me posted on how you are doing. ginnie[/QUOTE]

I don't doubt that it was done, it's just that in a growing spine, it would have to be multiple surgeries as the bones are still growing, or some kind of extension/expansion hardware. I know some kids have had to go through that with other skeletal problems, but the spine... I would have hoped it could wait until the poor kid stopped growing rather than put her through all that - even with youth's remarkable ability to heal....

Have you been watching the Olympic equestrian events? I haven't seen them in a while, but I noticed this time that they now have inflatable vests (like air-bags) for falls. They may not be anything new; it's just the first time I noticed them, because one of the riders did fall off, and his vest inflated. Looked like it protected his torso against hooves as well.

Doc

I'm sorry if this has been gone over, but is there anything that can be done about how you sleep? What I mean is support-wise, that may also provide some therapeutic effect. I've had to go to sleeping on a fairly steep wedge (I probably need a hospital-type bed, but I'm stubborn) and while I was always a stomach/side sleeper, I can't sleep on either anymore - back only, with extra pillow on top of the wedge. This has resulted in my needing a cpap (for apnea) but at least I'm sleeping with less pain in my back & neck. I've also heard of people needing to sleep in a chair/recliner, or whatever needs to be done...

Could you clarify what you meant by "right off the bat"?

Doc

An old saying probably from baseball, as soon as the accident happened, or the ball was hit, the surgery should have been done then.

Sorry, I'm ancient.

m

Olympics are on all the time at my house while they are in session. Of course I watch!!!!
Saw the horses on the causeway today again while going uptown. The girl and her dad was there again. I got the card of the organization that does this stuff, and maybe I will put that on my bucket list and go riding in the water before I leave this Island. I think this group is there alot, so I will try to befriend slowly and find out more about this young girl who got the fusion. I only know what the Dad told me, that she had no choice. In fact I didn't know much about any fusion stuff until it happened to me and I started all the research. I do know there are rods that can be extended. Yes, this kid went through alot, and I often wonder how someone so young can just pick up so gratciously and go on with life like nothing happened. That is how she seems on that horse. Wow, makes me look like a wimp. Take Care Doc, ginnie