G
greyghost
Guest
I have had a bad back for 15 years. I have had surgery on my back and still continue to have pain. Sometimes it is just mild yet other times I need to take pain medication. There are many variables as to why it gets worse, from the weather to amount of physical activity. One weekend I did a lot of work around the house exerting myself more than usuall. By Mondy morning I had a lot of back pain. I did my ussual routine (relaxing, heat therapy) this did not ease up the pain. I decided to go to the emergency room since I could not get an appointment with my Dr. By this time I was in so much pain that I could not sit in a chair and then get back up again without assistance. When I got to the emergency room it was close to a shift change, the clerk that took the information asked me to have a seat and stated I would be called soon. I tried to stand as long as I could knowing that I was having a problem getting up once I sat down. I finally had to sit down and found a chair that had arm rest to assist me in getting down to the sitting position. The nurse finally came out to get me and I asked her if she could assist me in getting up. It took the nurse and my wife to get me up. When I got to the station where the nurses take the vitals the nurse asked me to have a seat. I asked her if I could stand because as she was just made aware of I needed assistance to stand up. I also stated that I did not think I could get down to the chair that she indicated for me to sit in. The nurse tried to assist me by providing me with a chair that was able to riase up by the use of hydrolics (the same as any office chair the can be raised and lowered). I decided to do as she wanted because there was no relief from the pain while I was standing. So I very gingerly sat in the chair, as soon I had my intire weight in the chair it bottomed out. Whatever was keeping it in the extended position just let go and I went from the highest position to the lowest position in a split second. This drove a searing pain up my back that made me jump out of the chair and move (not exactly sure how I got there) 10 feet across the room to hold onto a couter top for the much needed support to remain standing. The pain was so intense at this time I could not answer any questions that were being asked of me by the nurse. The nurse finally assisted me onto a bed and sent for the Dr. The Dr. came in and told me he was going to morning meeting and the Dr that was coming on would probably send me to xray to find out if I had any new injuries. The nurse asked if I could have a shot for the pain and the Dr. said he would like for the Dr that was coming on duty to take care of that. The Dr did not ask me my feelings on any of this (I would have taken the shot). When the 2nd Dr. came in all he was provided was the vidals and the complaint, nothing about the chair incident. The Dr. reviewed my medical records and saw what appeared to be the same problem that I have had for the past 15 years and treated me the same. He did give me a shot in the back to releive some of the pain. My problem is I have not been able to enjoy any of the activities since that emergency room visit as I did prior to then. I have had more Dr visits both medical and Chiropractic for this pain than I have in the last 2 years. I have developed a new pain in a different area of my back which is limiting my abilties for anything physical. This in conjuction with the pain that already existed has slowed me down quite a bit. Now if I go for a drive over 30 miles I end up on pain medicine for 2 days. I apologize if I seem to be long winded in this. Can you tell me what my options are? By the way since this happened at the VA it would be a Federal matter.
Thanks for your time.
Thanks for your time.