Saturday, around 5 PM, I was taken to the Cone Medical Center ER at NC 68 and Willard Dairy Rd. with crippling pain caused by a herniated disc and pinched nerves in my upper spine. The pain was strong enough that I have only limited memory of the episode. The medical team at the ER treated me quickly and effectively, and by midnight I had prescriptions, relief, and was released. Unfortunately at 3 AM Sunday, the intense pain had returned, only worse than before. Valerie rushed me to the ER again where once more, Mark and Lauren Slayton met us to offer assistance and babysitting for the children. In both instances we called Dr. Tooke's office to get direction on what to do. Since the doctor-on-call was unable to prescribe any pain relief over the phone, we were advised to go to the ER. This time the pain had become unmanageable and so, with the support of Dr. Tooke's staff, it was decided I should be admitted to Moses Cone for treatment and to have corrective surgery. The staff at Moses Cone has been tremendous. I want to specifically call out a few of the outstanding employees that have gone far beyond the call of duty to assist us:
- Linda Coon, RN, MSA (Department Director, 3000-Neuro Med Surg)
- Christa McClellan, RN
- Dr. Joseph Stern, MD (Neuro Surgeon)
- Dr. Shanker Ghimire, MD (Board Cert. Hospitalist)
Regrettably I have also suffered a loss of confidence in my Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Michael Tooke. Dr. Tooke has been seeing me since December of 2011. Until this week my experience with him had been quite positive. When I first met with him I asked for a conservative treatment of my pain issues. He agreed that the best course of action was to make every attempt to avoid surgery if possible. Dr. Tooke treated me with steroids, muscle relaxers, and Neurontin (a nerve blocker) for over a year, but these therapies ultimately proved ineffective. In order to elevate my head and neck, and to reduce the pain, I spent 2012 sleeping on the sofa every night. The pain had also rendered me almost incapable of more than 2-3 hours of sleep each night. Before the Christmas holidays I saw Dr. Tooke one last time with hopes of avoiding an operation, however, according to the doctor there were no other viable alternatives left. I was told it was time to make a choice since nothing had really changed. For 4 weeks I attempted different combinations of therapy, but none showed any traction. When I was admitted to Moses Cone on Sunday, Valerie went to work finding out what the doctor would need in order to perform the operation. She remained in contact with the office through Monday night after the MRI had been completed and was available to Dr. Tooke.
It was Tuesday morning before Dr. Tooke came to see me for the first time. When he entered the room, he was visibly irritated and communicated that Valerie had been wasting everyone's time since there was no reason for him to see us until the MRI was complete. He also let us know he was leaving the practice he was with and had no idea where he would end up next. After examining me he stated that my MRI looked the same as last year and that he now believed the pain might be stemming from the facet joints on the back of the neck (a diagnosis he never discussed with me previously). According to him there was no reason to do surgery, and even if I wanted him to proceed, he did not have the time to operate on me. His only solution was to do an epidural block that could last "2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months, or possibly not at all," to get me off diladid, out of the hospital, and time to find another doctor. Several times he hinted that I was hooked on the prescription drugs available to me here! After consulting with us for about 15 minutes he told us he needed an answer because he was in a hurry to operate on another patient. Needless to say, we were dumbfounded.
Less than 30 minutes after he left, Linda Coon, the Department Director for nursing, knocked on our door to inquire about our experience at Moses Cone thus far. We invited her in and discussed the morning's events. She seemed as confused and upset about it as we were. Mrs. Coon was reassuring, telling us that she was going to work to rectify the situation. Our nurse, Christa, also came by and discussed the situation with us and jumped into action. Within an hour we were visited by Dr. Ghimire, the hospitalist doctor, who also represented us to all the right people. In the meanwhile I called Mark Slayton, who suggested a Dr. Joseph Stern, a neurosurgeon who had worked on his back issues with great success. When Linda returned, she offered to contact Dr. Stern on our behalf, as did Dr. Ghimire. At the same time, Christa worked with us to secure the records from my previous spinal surgeon in Nashville, calling them personally to get them here faster for Dr. Stern. Though Dr. Stern was in surgery, he still managed to look at my MRI, reassure me that "I was not crazy," and sent his nurse, Brian, to my room to discuss everything with me. Last evening, after a long day of surgery, Dr. Stern came to my room as well and discussed all the particulars of his plan of action with me. He even took the time to listen to our story and try to shed some light on it. This morning he also came by my room again to ask if there were any lingering questions. I am now scheduled for surgery Thursday with Dr. Stern and his fine staff.
As difficult as it has been, I believe the events of the past week have worked together to pair me with a fine doctor that comes highly recommended by every staff member in Neurology, and by several people outside the hospital. Had Valerie and I been left alone to reconcile our problems, we would have lacked the proper knowledge and connections to find a resolution to our situation so quickly . If you are a believer, you will find it hard to deny the providence of God in this story. We feel blessed by the events of this week, and are convinced that we have been plucked from a potentially disastrous situation that promised only long-term pain and frustration. I pray God's blessing on the staff here at Moses Cone. They have certainly been a blessing to us.
Peace.
Chris
No comments:
Post a Comment