The 4-1-1

I thought it would be easier to post here and link to facebook. There is a lot of info, but I will do my best to be brief!

We met with Dr. Aldrete on Tuesday. He is the founder of the Arachnoiditis Foundation and the famous anesthesiologist who developed the Aldrete Score that is used in every hosptial across the nation when patients have surgery. He wrote a book about Arachnoiditis in 2000 where he pretty much talked about there being no cure for this horrible and painful disease. Since that time, he has done research and developed a treatment that does not completely cure the disease, but it has been proven to reverse some of the damage...the greatest results being in those patients who are within 4 months of the trauma that caused the disease.

Dr. Aldrete went through every one of the pictures of Geno's MRIs one by one and showed us exactly what has happened and where it all went wrong. Basically, Geno's MRI from September 2, 2010 showed a bulging disc and nothing more to him. (Now, he did say that he is not a neurosurgeon and another neurosurgeon may agree with the one who operated, but he showed where the nerve root had plenty of room. He said that he did not see where the nerve was being pinched and required surgery. However, that is another conversation!) What this MRI did show, though, was that all of the nerves in his back were flowing freely and independently of one another.

The next MRI was done 5 days post-op and showed that there was a LARGE pocket of spinal fluid mixed with blood and other tissue just under the incision and at the point of the laminectomy that was performed. In my previous post about the surgery, I did mention that Geno was lying on an ice pack in recovery because they were concerned about the swelling, but the surgeon made the decision NOT to put in a drainage tube. Also, the report from the radiologist does not mention the large pocket of fluid. He only mentions a small pocket of fluid and tissue that is consistent with what should be expected after this type of surgery. If you remember from my previous post, I mentioned that we were back in the ER 4 days post-op because Geno was having these horrible headaches that they thought were from spinal fluid leakage. That is why the second MRI was done. I don't know if the two neurosurgeons just read the radiologist's report and didn't actually look at the films themselves, but if that is the case, then they didn't see the large pocket of fluid and they didn't feel the need to open Geno back up and put in a drainage tube. What had already started to happen at this point, though, was that the pocket of spinal fluid mixed with the blood had reentered the dura. This blood-contaminated fluid then caused the nerves to start to adhere to one another!

If you think about the nerves flowing freely, independent of one another, then every time you move in a way that stretches your spine...and this is almost every movement...they are able to move freely with your movement. Now, consider what happens when they are attached to another nerve. They both have to move and the friction causes pain! By the time Geno went for his third MRI in the ER on January 7th when he could barely move, the nerves were so bundled that they appear to be bundled into 3 or 2 bunches. And as you move down the spine, they are in one bunch in some places! Now, the entire bunch of nerves is stretched with each movement. It is incredibly painful.

However, we feel very lucky that we have met with Dr. Aldrete and there is a treatment that can possibly help Geno. Of course, his days of softball, basketball, golf, and pretty much any sport are over, but if he has the chance of lessening his pain, we are going to try it!

The cost of the treatment is pretty expensive-$3500. The initial exam took a good portion of our savings, so we are doing what we can to earn the money in the next month since we will still be within the 4 month period where optimal results are produced. They have treated some patients 2 to 3 years out with some improvement, but not as much as the ones who got in earlier.

So...I had been trying to decide what I was going to be doing to help contribute to our income. Geno felt very strongly that I should not get a job outside the home so that we can have our grandchildren visit or I can go with him when he travels for work or I will be here since his hours away are so short. My sweet daughter-in-law told me that I should start a website and sell the crafty items I make. It was nice to hear that someone thinks my items are worthy of selling online :o) Well, now that I have a cause to work toward-and QUICKLY-I will be starting off with my card sets. I really enjoy coming up with them. So, if you are looking for some little gifts or if you are someone who likes to send out a lot of cards, please check back in a week or so and see if there is anything that interests you. Also, I enjoy coming up with new ideas, so if you have a certain color theme or occasion request, just let me know!!

In the meantime, prayers are requested :o)