My Medical Update & Surgery

Today is Sunday, unfortunately I did not attend church today. It has been a very painful week with my back & legs and I can't hardly walk. As you all know I am scheduled for back surgery next month to relieve the pain I have been experiencing for the past 23 yrs. due to 2 pinched nerves. My pain started about 23 years ago after falling on the bathroom floor at University Hospital while caring for my son Sammy. At the time I couldn't go see a doctor because I was so busy with Sammy so I put off caring for myself. Then it seemed to fairly go away until my car accident in 1990, 1 year after Sammy died. 

In 1990 I had a car accident and after the accident I began to experience that same back pain again. I went to see many doctors through the years, I had lots of chiropractic care, lots of massages & physical therapy to try relive the pain; but it never went away...on the contrary it got worse. Then after spending one week in tears day & night with no relief from the pain I took matters upon myself. I walk into my doctors office with no appointment and I told him that if he does not find out what is happening with my back and shoulder pain I was going to fire him. He was stunned and I guess he felt threatened, so he quickly referred me to Dr. Schullin for an EMG of my upper & lower extremities to find out what was going on. 

After Dr. Schullin did both EMG's and then she asked me if I had ever hurt my shoulder & back? I said yes...in 1989 I fell in the hospital bathroom in 1989 in which i hurt my left hip and in a car accident 20 years ago. When the other car hit me I was thrown towards my driver door hitting my shoulder, arm, hip and head on the door. I remember hitting it very strongly and breaking the front window with my head and ever since then I have been in pain. She said to me that I had 2 pinched nerves on my neck behind the throat and 2 pinched nerves on my lower back which was pressing against my left hip and that I needed to see Dr.Sertich  (Back Surgeon).
.Now let me tell you that Dr. Sertich and I go back a long time, he was the one who did my 3 brain surgeries in 1987 to correct a birth defect; so I felt so good knowing he was going to take care of me. He did a Mylo-gram test in which he inserted a needle on my lower spine with dye, as he was taking pictures of my back he said I really need surgery to fix the problem I had. He explained to me afterwards in his office that when I had the car accident the forceful impact in which I was thrown towards the door had dislocated the 2 lower vertebrates off the spinal frame and that through time my arthritis had slowly moved those vertebrates towards the left side of the spine pinching  the L3 & L4 nerves on the way down. He said if I did not get this fixed right away I could end up paralyzed from the waist down. He explained to me that when he does this surgery he will move the 2 vertebrates back onto its proper place so they will not move again by locking them there with 2 metal plates and 4 screws. This will then relieve the pain completely and it will prevent the vertebrate from falling off the spinal frame. He also said this procedure is a very delicate one just like my brain surgery was. He also said my neck had 2 pinched nerves and he would have to do that surgery after he fixes my lower back.


He scheduled me for August 11 but because I have been experiencing some complications in which he felt we needed to hurry up and do the surgery as soon as possible, I now going into surgery on the 4th....one week ahead. I am on heavy pain relievers (narcotics) and the other thing that is helping me relieve the pain is stretching.

Last march I had rotator cuff surgery to fix what the accident did to it. The photo below is my shoulder after the surgery.

 Dr. Whitted (Orthopedic Surgeon) said that when I hit the door I crushed the shoulder into my clavicle and my clavicle was then crushed into my neck.


 After my rotator cuff surgery the pain on my arm and shoulder disappeared immediately. 

I have an enormous amount of faith and I know that with faith,  prayer and a Priesthood blessing, I will be fine to continue doing the Lord's work here on earth. I do ask for your prayers and I really appreciate them...THANK YOU.