Trip To The Doctors Office, Hospital Admission and Surgery

On August 28, 2006, after my husband picked me up from work, we proceeded to the doctors office. I was talking to the medical insurance company, trying to get authorization to go directly to the ER but they advised me to go to my PCP first.

We went to see Dr. D, a nurse brought out a wheelchair and I was seen on an emergency basis. She didn't know what to do, why I was violently shaking or why I had an extreme increase in my back pain. She reviewed the MRI report that the nurse said they didn't have when I was desperately calling all week for the results. A time before I knew to get copies but an experience that taught me to make sure the facility mails copies to me. The doctor stated that I had a hemangioma but that it shouldn't cause any problems. She tried contacting several specialists to see who she could send me to as an emergency patient. She came back to the room and told us to go to Dr. Mc.

The *Great* Dr. Mc (his office is located in the same bldg as the MRI facility), an OrthoSurgeon, had reviewed the MRI and had his staff calling the hospital to get a room, before we even made it to his office. Totally Awesome!! He discussed what he believed the problem to be and asked me to stand, which I couldn't do, even with my husband's assistance. The hemangioma that shouldn't cause any problems was large enough, at 1.8cm, to burst through the vertebrae at L4 (lumbar spine - low back) and cause the vertebrae to collapse. He described the surgical plan that could relieve the pain and tremors, then gave us the name of the doctor who would perform the procedure along w/the room number I was pre-admitted to.

I got settled in my room at the hospital. Had all the necessary testing done w/a collection of blood and urine and then a Foley catheter was inserted. I certainly couldn't be expected to walk to the bathroom in my condition, not to mention the fact that I was still scared out of my mind about losing my ability to walk and what was happening with that. I really wasn't even thinking about the surgery that would happen the next day. My husband and kids went home, cancelled work and/or school to ensure they would be w/me before and after surgery. I went to sleep because I was groggy from the meds.

On August 29th, I was scheduled to have surgery in the morning but it was pushed back to the afternoon because the surgeon wanted an MRI of the lumbar spine w/contrast. I called my husband to let him know about the change and was carted off to the MRI station (outside the bldg). With all the meds I was on for the pain (and I guess - anxiety), I thought I was dreaming. The person managing the gurney must have read the look on my face and said "yep, we're going outside for the MRI".

A short while after the MRI, I was taken to OR. I met the anesthesiologist and the surgeon at that time. I had a brief conversation w/the surgeon about the procedure and, of course, an introduction. I wasn't supposed to be asleep but when I felt the pressure from the hammering (they hammer through the bone - OUCH!!!, he missed that part in the explanation) they decided it was best to put me to sleep rather than hear me screaming out. LOL

When I woke up in recovery, my husband and children were there. After the allotted period of recovery, I was carted off to my room. Met w/the doctor, he prescribed the meds (no more Darvocet) he thought to be appropriate at the time, checked to see if the pain and tremors were gone and if I was now able to stand up and/or walk. Well, the tremors were less violent but still there, I still had great difficulty standing and the pain had increased. He advised someone from the staff not to get me out of bed for 36-48 hours. Did I mention that I was suppose to be up and walking around, with no pain, within 4 hours after surgery?

I apparently dosed off because when I woke up, the anesthesia had worn off and they realized just how much medication it would take to keep me quiet. I had a visit, w/flowers, cards, books, etc., from 2 co-workers (my boss and her boss - both great, long-term friends). My family left during this time to eat and rest but came back w/DVD's and player. I was set as long as the pain was under control. Pain control was a continual struggle throughout the day and seemed to get worse by the hour, instead of better.

Later in the day, 2 nurses got me out of bed (uh, oh). I was jerking and dizzy because I kept getting the feeling like I was falling out the wheelchair. Shortly afterward, another nurse came in and asked why I was up. Obviously, I had to be put back to bed.

The next day, the Foley was taken out and I was told I could walk to bathroom, which I couldn't do. My husband came for a visit and asked the nurse how I was supposed to get to the bathroom. She told him I should walk. HaHa!! Anyway, later in the day the doctor came by and told them I was being transferred to the Acute Rehab floor. However, I had a lot of tests and another MRI first because they were trying to find the reason for the pain and tremors, since it wasn't the hemangioma. The MRI showed that I had the syrinx (a fluid filled cyst in the spine) on my spine in the thoracic area (T3-T10) but I was told by the neurologist (Dr. X) brought in on the case, it shouldn't be causing my problems. Gee, where have I heard that before?!? LOL Dr. X then said he would check on me every day (yeah, he meant that he would get paid for saying "Hi, how are you?" each day).

Basically, this was the day, August 30th, the syrinx was found and diagnosed. It would take almost another year before all my doctors agreed that the syrinx was the cause of my neurological problems.