Hello, I just found this forum and it is great to hear support from others.

I am in need of help, Oct 1986 at age 18 I would thrown from a horse, had compression fractures of T10,T11,T12 and with youth on my side walked again, but never ever did anyone tell me that i had a spinal cord injury, skip ahead a few years in 2005 after have severe neck pain since the original accident i had a mylegram which showed 4 old fracture's of my neck and i had surgery on neck for ruptured disc, no one ever mentioned spinal cord injury.

In 2006 after years of severe back pain the Dr. that did surgery on my neck said he could fix lower back, so in Aug 2006 had lower back surgery, 1 day later a lump the size of a baseball formed at the surgery site, i called the Dr. and was told this was normal, after 2 weeks of calling him i went into his office for a post op check, he aspirated the lump and shook it up and said, i wonder if i should go back in, now by this time i was having severe off the chart pain, but he decided to wait, i went back in another week he aspirated again and put me in the hospital for pain control, this kind of thing went off and on for two months, and i was begging for help, i had a MRI and it showed that i had spinal lesion's and an abcess, he decided to do a blood patch at the same hospital, we are now 2 months into this drama, after i awoke from the blood patch my legs were twitching on there own, i was in agony, blood pressure going up and down, viberation feeling throughout my body, the Dr. said this was normal, my husband went off like a bottle rocket on him, now in walks the nurse and she whispers in our ear to go to another hospital now and get help, that something is wrong, we did.

The new hospital was scared to treat me because i was a patient of another Dr., they gave me pain meds and sent me home, this went on for 2 weeks, the pain got so severe i begged for death, my legs twitched so bad that it moved the bed, i got no rest at all, i could not lay, sit or stand, moving ahead March 2007 i lost my bladder, reflex's, but still had the pain, new Dr. said he believed i had a post op spinal nerve damage, sent me to pain management, finally got on enough morphine to ease the pain a little but not much!

Moving ahead again to another new Doctor Aug 2007, i was told i had maybe arachnoiditis, i went along with that, at that point some days i could walk and some days i could not, Nov 2007 pain was so severe i was put in the hospital for 2 weeks, urologist's did test on my bladder and said it was dead, nerve study showed damage, no upper or lower reflex's, but no diagnosis, March 2008 hospitalized again for the same thing, but this time i was told that i was going to have to learn to deal with my pain and learn how to use a wheelchair, hospital bed and etc, I could not believe what i was hearing, but no diagnosis, i was sent to outpatient rehab, this was the first time I have ever heard that i was a paraplegic due from post op spinal cord injury hematoma.

Aug 2008 back in hospital Dr. gave orders for a wheelchair, hospital bed and permenant cath, i was so scared, and again no answers for me except for the rehab nurse having told me that i had a spinal cord injury, now they are calling me a walking paraplegic which is a term i have never heard of until i found your site a couple a days ago. I am laying here crying while i write this to you, and because no Doctor has told me what exactly happened to me i feel as those my husband and i have been living this nightmare over and over and over. I did not even no that the muscle spasms were from the spinal injury, i did not not that my vibrating legs were either, so basically now i am almost 3 years into this injury and until i found you i had no answers.

Has anyone had to become a paraplegic over and over again?

I think i will have to go to the hospital tomorrow for pain control again, it is unbearable, and now i having trouble breathing and feel like there is pressure at my old thoracic injury site, i am so scared.

I called an attorney today and he said my statues of limitations had expired for a lawsuit, which is crazy, the Dr. that did the surgery allowed this to happen, the Dr. that did the blood patch ignored my muscle spams and severe pain, and the both hospitals just sent me home without helping me.

My husband has not worked in all this time because he has been trying to take care of me, i am on disability but it is not enough to live on. My husband is completely exhausted and not mention we have had no emotional support at all, i feel like i am losing him along with my health, and they have the nerve to tell me it is too late for a lawsuit! Please anyone, who knows what i need to do, or someone that can tell me what is happening to me please respond.

I did not give all the details i am sure you can fill in some of the blanks, but my upper spine is feeling pressure and when i stand i feed pressure.

Thank you for letting me Vent, and any all advise would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Admin note: line breaks added

What a nightmare.
If nothing else, you've found a website where you'll be in good company. I don't know a thing about your injury myself but I imagine there are those who may be able to answer some of your questions. Especially queries about day to day living in a chair. That you seem to have no litigious recourse for this atrocity is a shame indeed.

Anyway, welcome to the site and here's hoping things improve for you.

E-dog

Get another lawyer's opinion. If ones hungry enough, he'll fight for you!

Sorry for your troubles.

Indeed: just as with doctor's, you can get a second opinion from a different lawyer. Find one who specializes in medical cases and medical malpractice.

As for the statute of limitations (quoting from www.medicalmalpractice.com, emphasis mine):

"Keep in mind that you have a deadline to file your claim. The statute of limitations varies by state, but is typically about two years. That time often starts running at the moment of the negligent act, but other factors may come into play, such as when you learned of the negligence and when you stopped receiving treatment. You also may have to consider other filing deadlines if, for instance, your case involves treatment by a government agency, such as a county hospital."

Seems to me that a good lawyer could argue the case.

I am very sorry to hear of your troubles, and the pain you've gone through, and I know that a lawsuit won't compensate for all of that. I wish you and your husband all the best, and I hope that you manage to find some physiotherapist who'll help you cope with your new day-to-day reality. It's important that you focus also on your future, on getting as much of your life back as you can.

Agreeing with all that's been said before, time limits for medical accident law-suits in the UK don't start running until you are reasonably aware that you may be the victim of negligence.

You need specialist advice.