[kajari]

I am new to ISPINE.ORG and wanted to take a few minutes to introduce my self and give a somewhat brief overview of my life changing injury that has left me in horrible pain…each and every day….every passing moment of every hour. In February 2007 I was working for the Federal Government and without going into all the boring details I will cut straight to the point. I fell 27 feet and though I am lucky to be alive my horrible nightmare of pain started the day I had this horrific fall. I was left paralyzed in my legs for a little while after the fall but when paramedics arrived they were able to straighten me out which helped me to regain feeling and control over my legs. I injured T6/T7 protruding 3mm into my spinal canal, T11/12, and the worst was L4/L5. I tried all of the non-surgical treatments that the doctors would authorize (PT, LSI and Facet injections, TENS, etc..) . Ultimately I went through surgery to remove the L4/L5 disc and in its’ place they used the Prodisc TDR (Total Disc Replacement). Up until I had the surgery I was in excruciating pain that traveled down both legs and into my feet. I also experienced the horrible lower back pain and also constant tingling in portions of my feet. Within two days of having the disc replacement surgery my pain had been reduced from a constant 6 to 7 pain scale down to a 3 to 4 pain scale. I did lose a lot of the feeling in my feet and portions of my calves but this is to be expected when you consider the complexity of the nerves at the location where the disc was removed. I was EXTREMELY happy and was in the process of getting my life back. I went through a strenuous work conditioning/hardening program and after just 6 weeks post surgery my surgeon lifted all light duty restrictions and sent me back to full duty without any work/light duty restrictions. Two weeks after the surgery I stopped taking the Oxycodone, Oxycontin, muscle relaxers and I no longer needed medication to help me sleep at night. It was like a nightmare of pain had finally come to an end and I could finally start living my life again, taking my kids on outdoor adventures, playing ball with my kids, living my life to its’ fullest with my children and wife. I lived this newfound life full of joy and happiness for the next four months till one day in November 2008 when I was sitting on the ground and my legs went numb. I had immediate flashbacks and horrifying memories of the pain that was still so fresh in my mind. I was able to shake off the numbness and regained feeling in my legs. Two days later when I woke up for work one morning the nightmare surfaced with a vengeance and the pain came on like a freight train hitting a brick wall. From then till now the pain has become progressively worse and I am having to take those HORRIBLE pain meds again. I had 4 months of false hope and now my life has been turned upside down all over again. My 4 dear children just do not understand why their daddy is in so much pain and why I cannot live the life they have dreamed of and only have fond memories of. It breaks my heart to see my children suffering because of a work injury that I had no conrtol over…a work injury that was deemed no fault of my own and one that could not have been prevented other than me not being in the wrong place at the right time. I have again been through so much testing….abnormal EMG, MRI after MRI showing bad discs and loss of height in the discs above and below my artificial disc, LSI and FACET injections, etc…. All of this to find out that the artificial disc is causing all of this pain....causing my body to have an inflammatory response to the artificial disc….stress on the discs above and below the artificial disc and much, much more. To compound the situation T6/T7 is causing horrible pain around my ribs now and excruciating pain in my middle back. I was sent in for an emergency MRI because I had lost feeling in my middle back. The Orthopedic Spinal Surgeon who consulted with my on an emergency basis stated that yes this is causing the horrible pain but there is nothing they can do because operating on T6/T7 is very risky since they have to go through the chest cavity. Unless it causes life threatening symptoms he stated there is not a surgeon who would risk my life to try and fix the disc. URGGGGGGGGGG….I am in tears as I type this email knowing that I do not have much hope for the pain in my legs or back. To alleviate some of the pain in my legs the orthopedic surgeons and second opinion surgeons are recommending that they take the artificial disc out of my L4/L5 and fuse me from S1 to L2. This sounds easy enough except it is another extremely risky surgery that not many surgeons or neurosurgeons have had experience with.
So, as you can probably tell from my email, I just want to be able to talk with others who know what this pain is like. As you hear time and time again….this kind of pain cannot be understood or even imagined unless you have been there to feel it. Just knowing there is a wonderful group of people who have shared this pain gives me some hope and time to get my mind off of this horrible situation. I guess if I was all alone and did not have the most wonderful wife in the world and 4 of the most incredible children it might be a little easier to deal with.
Since we do not have any family close by at our current home we are going to be relocating to Western KY where my parents and siblings live. This way we can get some much needed help with a lot of the every day tasks that I can no longer perform. I would like to ask the group in any knows of a good Orthopedic Spine Surgeon or Neurologist who has experience performing back surgeries. We will be close to Paducah in KY and Clarksville and Nashville in TN. I would love to hear any recommendations you may have. I need to find a good surgeon and also a good pain management doctor before we make the move in May.

Take Care,
Greg