Emergency Laser Spine Surgery

When my mother was 14 years old she was raped. Soon she learned she was about to be a mother. So her mother sent her to her grandparents on her fathers' side of the family. He had remarried so she lived with her grandparents. When the baby was born, she returned to her grandparents' home. While there, the family was in the back of the house. Aileen (her stepmother) seeing the screen door was unlocked, went in and got the baby (me). Aileen went to another city and when went to a doctor who checked the baby, the back had been broken. (Told to me by Aileen in the 90's)

My great grandfather Wirt, called me Monk because I screamed constantly like a howler MONKey and would turn red from my broken back. When I was 9 mo the old, Aileen put me in a linen closet of an old abandoned house. Someone found me more than a day later. I had an extremely swollen head from an infection, the doctors had to cut my skull open and operate to save my life.

I was brought home at one year old, with my head still in bandages. My great grandfather found Aileen in the room and I was in a pool of blood from being dropped on my head. The doctors told the family that I would never walk or talk again. But the Lord had other plans for me. Now something bad was turning into a blessing, because I was then raised for the next three years by a group of nuns. They taught me to walk and talk again. Mostly, they taught me to love God and Jesus.

I am able to know the early facts of my life, because Aileen was recovering from a heart attack she was talking out loud, but not realizing that I could hear it. Besides things that I heard, I was told more from family members growing up.

So as I grew up the saving grace was my love of God. My goal in life was to have a family, show kids love and not hate. Things do not always work out the way we want. Sometimes plans get messed up, but in the long run we must remember God is in charge. Along the way there was sorrow and joy. My husband and I became the number one adoptive home in New Mexico. We also had brought our families together.

I am active in my church and community, trying to do the best I know how. I fall short of what needs to be done sometimes, but keep trying.

Now when my back was broken a long time ago, I've had problems ever since. When I try to stand up straight the spinal cord only has half the space it should have. The bones do not sit on top of each other, but more like tiled blocks. This causes pain like lightning going up my back and puts pressure on the base of my skull. Due to my health now I have had to stop working at the Free Store (a non profit welfare store) for now. I normally have a large garden to give away vegetables, raise chickens and sell and give away eggs. I like to teach others to see, quilt, garden, canning, candle making, etc. I still have much that I can give to help people, but due to the extreme pain the door is closing. Please help me so I can help others.

When I talked to my team of doctors, they told me they can fix this. The bad news is that after Medicare pays their part, I will still have to pay $14,500.00. Also, my doctors do t except Medicaid like so many others. I am alone now and only get my social security check as income. So I pray in God's name that you will please help me.

I want to be help to people and not a burden to anyone.

Thank you for reading this!

Sincerely,
Barbara Jean Young

I will be going to Laser Spine in St. Louis, Missouri. I have bulging discs, spinal stenosis and facet disease.

The doctors plan to repair the following:

Foraminotomey - relieve pressure on the nerve root as it exits the spine end.

Laminotomy - relieves pressure on the spinal cord compressed by spinal stenosis.

Discectomy - remove the portion of a herniated disc that's pressing on the nerve.

Facet Thermal Abiation - the primal procedure to treat arthritis and is most often performed in conjunction with a decompression, it relieves painful nerves in the facet joint using a laser.