Did Edrie's condition worsen between the first MRI and the third MRI?
By the time they gave me steroids, my condition was stable anyway. I'm not
convinced that the steroids necessarily help, but doctors want to help and
not just stand by and watch helplessly. Steroids, since they're known to
reduce inflammations of various kinds, are what the doctors resort to
because they have nothing else--no other answers.
I was sent home from the first emergency room I went to with a diagnosis of
muscle spasm--at this emergency room, everyone was very nice but medically
lax about symptom history and evaluating my case. After I clarified with
the resident that the symptoms appeared BEFORE I went to the chiropractor,
he lost interest, sent me for x-rays, and then his supervisor sent me home,
telling me to see a neurologist if the symptoms worsened (I was slow onset
over about two weeks). The next time I went to a different emergency room,
where I was treated shabbily as a human being but medically very well. At
that point I couldn't walk without major help and was admitted. At that
point, however, my symptoms were stable and didn't really worsen, although
the steroids I started about 3 or 4 days later when I was diagnosed (I was
admitted on New Year's Day right before a weekend) were eventually
considered to have exacerbated the reluctance of my intestines to do
anything at all.
I don't want to rain on your parade, but I tend to agree with the attorney
you saw that it will be difficult to prove that you were harmed by not
starting the steroids sooner. Steroids can definitely cause as many
problems as they help, and my feeling (very subjective) is that most
people's spinal cords heal naturally whether or not steroids are given.
What I would have died from if I hadn't been admitted the second time would
have been a combination of kidney failure, toxins in my body from my
bladder and intestines, an infection in my bladder, etc. I think the
medical folks save our lives by intervening in these kinds of problems and
with ventilators for the folks injured in the cervical spine and affected
in their ability to breath, not by giving us steroids.
Maybe you can parlay your experience into guilting the insurance company
whenever they try to deny you PT or other assistance and medical care. Or,
could you base a suit on the condition they initially tried to send you
home in? You said you were retaining urine--had they established a
self-catherization program for you? Retaining urine could cause kidney
damage in addition to bladder infections. They should also have set up
either a PT appointment or program with you before you left the hospital
(without your insistence). These issues seem easier to prove.
More important than proving who's right or wrong, or even getting some
appropriate compensation, is letting go of blame and doing the most you can
do for your own recovery. You have some movement in your legs--go for
it--exercise, build strength. Even if you won a suit, the person who can
ultimately do the most for you is you. The doctors often say there's no
improvement after two years, but they don't know, really, and quite a few
people on this list have proved them wrong. After 5 1/2 years, I just got
back the ability to sweat in my lower back, which means I can exercise
outdoors a little longer when the temperature is somewhat warmer than 75
degrees (I'm not ready to throw caution to the wind, but if my stomach or
legs start sweating as well, I could do anything I wanted outside in any
temperature).
Don't give up, Edrie, and think your only hope is outside your control.
Your best hope for a brighter future rests with you. I don't mean to be
hard on you or dis your plans, but I worry some about your negative
assessment of your physical strength and abilities, especially for the
future.
Aurore
ableck(AT)nas.edu