Save Sams Spine from Spinal Suffering
Someone i love very much once told me if i can say something in a sentence, i'll say it in thirty, so im keeping this as concise as possible.
2 January 2009. Wake with an almighty pain in neck.
15 January 2009. Admitted to Sheffield Neurosurgery and after extensive diagnostics was diagnosed with two prolapsed discs. This is extremely painful.
20th July. Readmitted to Neurosurgery Ward with worsening pain. This admittal to hospital resulted in the spinal disectomy operation I had booked for August being cancelled due to more diagnostics leading the neurosurgeons not wanting to perform the operation, citing outcome Vs risk clash.
From this point I spent much time in bed or in a chair. Everyone knows what i was like, but for those that dont, in short...Im in excruciating pain. Every day and night. I now have enough focus to not show it as much, but it's taking a terrible toll in that the medication is destroying my health as well..but back to the chronology..
15th Feb 2010 Neck goes very bad again. MRI reveals continuing prolapse, but after requesting second opinion of case, Sheffield Neurosurgery discharge me saying to attend pain clinics to deal with the pain.
After this i continue in looking for ways to cure my neck, knowing the diagnosis and decision of the surgeons to be incorrect.
22nd Nov 2010. Find and go to see Mr Manoj Krishna at Nuffield Hospital in York. You can check his site here (kspine.net) He examines my MRI from previous tries and comes up with a radically different view to the Sheffield Surgeons. he does however need a MRI and Xray doing that's up to date.
15th January 2010. Two years to the day, Mr Krishna diagnoses my condition. from the images taken, he has found that my neck has collapsed and is worsening. The discs from top to bottom of the cervical region are very damaged, some entirely herniated, some slightly so, but altogether, my neck is heading for a worse fall than previously imagined. The vertebrae and discs are damaged and aren't getting better on their own.
Basically, you all know me. You know what i was like. I charged at everything with a wild abandon and revelled in life, now reduced to a mind in a chair. I want my life back with all my added reflection thrown in to boot. For those that dont know me, here is what is going on with me, causation, effect etc.
Ok, so the prolapsed discs press on the nerve root and spinal cord at the area where they protrude. this protrusion then causes everything the nerve affects to be transmitted as pain and weakness. So i cant feel half my hand, i have 30% usage of the right arm. A breakdown of the medication im on and symptoms from them
Morphine (slow release)
Nortriptaline
Diazepam
Baclofen
Beta blockers
Morphine (fast acting)
metroclopramide
Tamoxifin??
Anything else?
Agonising, insanity brewing pain in the neck, worsened by any movement.
Twitches in thumb and finger, less in the arm, occasionally the right leg which often fails causing me to fall.
Paralysis and parasthesia in the arm.
No movement of head or body to a degree for causation of pain.
Shooting pains down the arm.
No sleep.
Skin Problem in extremities.
Migraines.
Burning pain in skin around neck on the back.
Difficulty swallowing.
Nausea.
Loss of memory.
Everyone that cares about me has to see me like this.
My PhD is on hold till i can get better.
Follow on effects from this-I now have heart problems (probably from medication and/or neck, breathing difficulty (potentially from the heart problems and possibly the nerve damage. I've also developed a potential ulcer and stomach problems (definitely from the drugs) and I've grown a very nasty lump on my chest that was suspected to be of a murky nature (which is now being dealt with by Big C medication, to add insult to injury.
So, now you're more or less up to date with what's wrong and my condition. I'll stick up some pictures of my MRI etc so you can see what's wrong, its pretty obvious, you don't have to be a terrible consultant from Sheffield to see there's something wrong.
Many of you have offered to help me in any way you can. So Ive set this up so you can all band digital heads together and see if you can help in anyway.
Heres what it costs. 20k. Twenty big G's. I want this doctor to do it and i would rather be private than not, but i do have the option of NHS treatment, but I've been down that road. I need much help, whether it be money or support or help getting to appoinments. bang heads together. Firstly I know there is a skydive happening, of which Joe and Ritson will leak details of as it happens. Raising this amount of money isnt going to happen overnight, but its not an unattainable figure. I can take out a loan and if we keep fundraising we can do this.
The operation isn't a cure. It will not cure me. But it will stop it. The damage done is done, Sheffield have made some big mistakes, but i dont want to focus any anger until im better, which is my main concern. So, lets get at that. This problem needs stopping, the recovery is going to take a hell of a long time, but i finally have an answer to what is wrong and an answer to why its happening and how to act now.
id love for some form of organisation to grow from this, some kind of charity for people suffering from chronic pain and neck injury. My surgeon is trying to change opinion, but it's taking time. he works in a different way, placing the patient first and believes people should be able to have a life without pain. if we can help bring that, all the better.
Please invite as many people as you can that you believe will help, use the discussion boards to think of fundraising ideas..lets apply some Yorkshire Grit to this problem
