How I ended up in a Wheelchair at 32

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Waking up on October 22, 2020 having no idea how my life was going to change so drastically in just a few short hours due to a human with what feels like has no soul. At 32 years old, mother to 3 and wife to 1, I went back for a spinal fusion surgery in the hands of a surgeon I trusted, at a number 1 rated hospital knowing they have all the technology and tools to help reduce surgical error. I had that trusted surgeon along with all the number 1 rated hospital staff stand over my naked, exposed and innocent body, looking at the x-ray of the screws he just placed, knowing that one of the screws did not look right and just close me up. When I had woke up my right leg was numb, I had no reflex in my right knee and my knee kept buckling every time I would try to take a step. I was told its normal after a back surgery to be numb and I had to give it time to heal an allow the swelling to go down. I will remind you that the surgeon never saw me in the hospital all 3 days and knew from the x-ray in the OR that the screw was in the wrong place. He knew that he screwed the screw into my spinal canal, he knew the symptoms I were experiencing were accurate with the location of the penetration and did nothing. As he is a surgeon that works with spinal nerves, he knows you have a very small window to save nerves when they become compressed or damaged. He did nothing, radiologist did nothing, nurses didn’t speak up, the number 1 rated hospital allowed me to become partially paralyzed from the hands of their surgeon who knew it was wrong right away and didn’t fix it.

He watched me cry, beg and pledge for help and with him being a narcissist, he first didn’t tell me anything was wrong with the surgery for months and then tried to convince everyone it was in my head. I begged for help and answers on what was happening with my body, why am I peeing on myself, why can’t I feel when I wipe down there, why can’t I feel when my bladder is full anymore or me pooping, why can’t I feel my husband having sex with me, why has the numbness and weakness never improved, why am I having spams so bad, why am I sweating, why is my back burning, why can’t I move my leg, feet or toes, why am I numb & weak, what is wrong with me? What is wrong with me? Is all I kept asking & could never get help no matter how many appointments I made with him. I made the choice to seek out a second option outside of the hospital network and that is when I learned the actual truth, that there was a screw in my spinal canal and needed to be removed. The second option sent the surgeon a letter stating the screw was to far center and needs to be fixed. I made an appointment to see him and hopefully have him remove the screw only to have him ignored it and refused to help me telling me to see a neuromuscular, neurologist, & psych all while knowing the entire time he did in fact put the screw into my canal and leave it there.

I saw neuromuscular doctor that works for the same number 1 rated hospital say that he reviewed my images plus saw me in person to say its in my head and the images were clear! I mean you as a licenses doctor will say that the image below is normal? The screw in the spinal canal isn’t the cause for the symptoms linked to these nerves that are being compressed with the screw in the spinal canal? Are we looking at the same image because that doesn’t look normal. As a patient I wouldn’t want that doctor in my care if he can’t see that the screw is misplaced, would you?

After 64 appointments between every doctor they sent me to, test that left me bruised and hurting, so many images that caused me so much pain that I would just lay there and tears would stroll down my face until I finally made it to Marianjoy Rehab Hospital all thanks to my primary care doctor. Before telling the rehab doctor a thing, just by her taking time to look over my chart and images she was able to give me a diagnoses and the start of proper care that I have needed the whole time. Why should anyone have to go through all that over something the surgeon knew from the beginning?

My life is changed forever at the age of 32 with three children and 1 husband. I am now a paraplegic, that lives in constant pain with spams and nerve pain that feels like my back is on fire. I will soon pee into a bag through my stomach because my bladder and urethra spams & urethra sores makes self-catheterization difficult. We are not even going to discuss how I go poop but staying regular is key! I lost my driver’s licenses and haven’t been able to get to the drivers ed rehab classes due to how far away they are and taking days off of work is costly for us. I lost my freedom; I am missing out on things with my kids such as never being able to go on a field trip with my youngest or when we go to the waterpark, and I am the designated photographer because the world is not wheelchair accessible. I am missing out on being able to live my life like I did before having the fusion. I am struggling to find employment because who wants to hire the wheelchair users that will need all these accommodations and time off when she gets repeat uti’s that take me out and doctor appointments regularly. The relationship my husband and I have has forever been changed. My kids had a mom that was active, fit always moving and working to a wheelchair mom with all these medical accommodations that make leaving the house a chore and not as easy as it should be. I was giving medical trauma, I was made to think I was in my head even though the doctors knew the truth, I am faced daily with struggles and forever changed in my early 30s because a human that had the power over my body as a surgeon chose his pride over the quality of my life.

I can almost promise that you like everyone else would file a medical malpractice after your entire life has changed requiring long term medical care that is going to cost millions, home accommodations, not to mention the quality of like and so much more that was taken from me. We can all agree that money will not take away everything that I am going through, but it is my only option to get the only justice that I will be allowed to get. That justice though comes at more cost to me and my life because the defense will run this out as long as possible. I can tell you that my case probably sat collecting dust for over a year because nothing new was added to my case just to drag this out. While I sit her trying to live my new life, get justice for something that was done to me and the person has openly admitted it the defense team just keeps dragging this out. The defense team is stalking my social media pages, they are watching me outside my house and whenever I leave the house acting if I am the bad guy. Now we have that number 1 rated hospital lawyer team treating me like a criminal, dragging out this case no matter how much evidence they have proving and showing that surgeon from their hospital alone with all the other staff and doctors went along with the “its in her head” game, wasting my time and insurance money.

4 years later after the surgeon made his choice, I am still fighting to get the only justice I can. How is it fair that that same person and business that changed my entire life gets to continue to take more of my life during this fight for justice? How is it fair that the system is designed to protect the hospital over its patients? How is it fair as a patient you have no protection because your medical records of what happened during the visit is just a summary from the doctor? They can leave things out even if you told them because at the end of day is that doctor going to remember the conversation with patient 20 of the day let alone are they going to remember that conversation 4 years later when asked about it during a medical malpractice deposition, probably not meaning its your word as a patient against a doctor. None of this is fair for everyone involved but as the victim in this getting justice will allow this chapter to close and can begin moving forward. Doesn’t everyone deserve to move forward and leave the past behind them?