I had Harrington Rod surgery several years ago and now have severe degeneration below my fusion. I'm in a county health system (public health) for the poor. I had to go the the Emergency Room for the second time in a week today for pain. None of my opiates are working. A week ago my pain increased and never went back down...the nerve pain in the middle of my spine is a constant throbbing, it feels like I'm going paralyized there or something. And then there's the pain in my lumbar, unfused part of my spine. It is a relentless, bone rubbing against bone, ache. I also have pain my my thoracic area. I was hoping they would admit me and give me an MRI as I know something is horribly wrong. I am afraid that I have hurt myself and caused some sort of permanant damage as I live alone and have no one to help me lift things, etc. But no, two visits to the ER and they still wouldn't send me for an MRI. The last one I had was in January.
Last week I took an ambulance and it was the ROUGHEST ride of my life! If you had had recent spinal surgery a ride like that would have put you back in the operating room. The drivers tried to avoid the potholes, but I screamed the whole way. This time, I had a friend drive me and that was also a mistake as they took me into the waiting room in a wheelchair (not where they take the ambulance patients in) I could not sit for the two hour wait so I asked for a gurney. Sitting is so painful. Nurses refused...said they had none to spare. So, I laid down on the waiting room floor. The other patients were outraged that the nurses wouldn't help me. I lay for two hours on a cold linoleum floor. They refused to give me a blanket or a pillow for my back. Sheriffs walked past, hospital executives, tons of nurses and the only people to stop were other patients. Finally, a young man and his girlfriend went up to their hospital room and brought me down a blanket. They looked like gang members...and yet, they were kind. The sheriff told them not to let the nurses see that they had given me a blanket. A while later the charge nurse came running down the hallway and said, "This looks terrible! It doesn't look good to have you lying here like this!" and finally I was taken in. After that the charge nurse took good care of me and I convinced the doctor to inject me with lidocaine and toradol, and he ordered an MRI at my request. But when the charge nurse left I was given one of those truly evil nurses, rarely have I seen someone give me a look of such hatred. She tried to send me and my friend away without an MRI appointment. I had to fight and battle her...as well as battle the doctor for pain meds that wouldn't make me sick. It was an eight hour ordeal and I still didn't get diagnosed or an MRI.
I just needed to unload on people that I knew would understand the physical spinal pain I am in. Thanks for listening.
Last week I took an ambulance and it was the ROUGHEST ride of my life! If you had had recent spinal surgery a ride like that would have put you back in the operating room. The drivers tried to avoid the potholes, but I screamed the whole way. This time, I had a friend drive me and that was also a mistake as they took me into the waiting room in a wheelchair (not where they take the ambulance patients in) I could not sit for the two hour wait so I asked for a gurney. Sitting is so painful. Nurses refused...said they had none to spare. So, I laid down on the waiting room floor. The other patients were outraged that the nurses wouldn't help me. I lay for two hours on a cold linoleum floor. They refused to give me a blanket or a pillow for my back. Sheriffs walked past, hospital executives, tons of nurses and the only people to stop were other patients. Finally, a young man and his girlfriend went up to their hospital room and brought me down a blanket. They looked like gang members...and yet, they were kind. The sheriff told them not to let the nurses see that they had given me a blanket. A while later the charge nurse came running down the hallway and said, "This looks terrible! It doesn't look good to have you lying here like this!" and finally I was taken in. After that the charge nurse took good care of me and I convinced the doctor to inject me with lidocaine and toradol, and he ordered an MRI at my request. But when the charge nurse left I was given one of those truly evil nurses, rarely have I seen someone give me a look of such hatred. She tried to send me and my friend away without an MRI appointment. I had to fight and battle her...as well as battle the doctor for pain meds that wouldn't make me sick. It was an eight hour ordeal and I still didn't get diagnosed or an MRI.
I just needed to unload on people that I knew would understand the physical spinal pain I am in. Thanks for listening.
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