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Hi, my name is Paige Rodgerson and I'm an elementary school teacher in Las Vegas, NV. I am launching this fundraiser in hopes of receiving medical bill assistance due to a herniated disc and spinal cord nerve complications that have led to an emergency back surgery in this month of November.
-Physical therapy up until this point has cost me $1500 out of pocket, and will be another $1500+ after January 1st, when my deductible resets.
-Epidural injections through my pain management doctor costs $700
-Emergency Room visits with exams, injections and medicine cost $1,000.
-The surgery costs will be higher than expected due to my school district’s insurance changing in July, and again in October (read about some of the issues with my insurance here ). The projected cost for surgery is $3,000.
These expenses total $7,700.
Below is a timeline of events that will give you a glimpse into the crippling journey of my on-going medical procedures to ultimately restore my quality of life.
HISTORY
When the pandemic started in March 2020, my school district migrated from on-campus learning to strictly virtual learning for all of our student population. This was a drastic change in my lifestyle as I went from being on my feet and active all day, to sitting in a chair in front of a computer screen for hours on end. This change did not help my impending issue, and is what I believe to have directly influenced the situation I am in right now.
Over the subsequent months, I began to notice prominent pains in my lower back that became more chronic. These pains started as small sharp pains, but quickly grew into something more debilitating. A year later, when March of 2021 rolled around, my lower back pain had come to an all time high and was now negatively interfering with how I was able to function on a daily basis. It was time to visit my doctor.
In response to my increased discomfort, my doctor and I decided to explore options that could hopefully provide me some relief as an alternative to surgery. I wanted to explore all available non-surgical options thoroughly before committing to an expensive surgery with an extensive recovery time. Below are the non-surgical options I participated in and how they influenced my decision making process:
-Doctor visits consisting of exams, MRI’s, and x-rays
-Urgent care: Many visits to urgent care as pain began to spike early on.
-ER visits: Two visits to the emergency room for exams and cortisone shots
-Prescription medication: Muscle relaxers, steroid packs, ibuprofen 800, nerve pain relievers
-Acupuncture: This was tried early on and made symptoms worse
-Massages: Massages provide me with temporary relief, but do not fix the bulging disc causing the pain.
-Yoga: This irritated the disc, some stretches helped but most times caused flare ups
-Physical therapy up until this point has cost me $1500 out of pocket, and will be another $1500+ after January 1st, when my deductible resets.
-Epidural injections through my pain management doctor costs $700
-Emergency Room visits with exams, injections and medicine cost $1,000.
-The surgery costs will be higher than expected due to my school district’s insurance changing in July, and again in October (read about some of the issues with my insurance here ). The projected cost for surgery is $3,000.
These expenses total $7,700.
HISTORY
When the pandemic started in March 2020, my school district migrated from on-campus learning to strictly virtual learning for all of our student population. This was a drastic change in my lifestyle as I went from being on my feet and active all day, to sitting in a chair in front of a computer screen for hours on end. This change did not help my impending issue, and is what I believe to have directly influenced the situation I am in right now.
Over the subsequent months, I began to notice prominent pains in my lower back that became more chronic. These pains started as small sharp pains, but quickly grew into something more debilitating. A year later, when March of 2021 rolled around, my lower back pain had come to an all time high and was now negatively interfering with how I was able to function on a daily basis. It was time to visit my doctor.
In response to my increased discomfort, my doctor and I decided to explore options that could hopefully provide me some relief as an alternative to surgery. I wanted to explore all available non-surgical options thoroughly before committing to an expensive surgery with an extensive recovery time. Below are the non-surgical options I participated in and how they influenced my decision making process:
-Doctor visits consisting of exams, MRI’s, and x-rays
-ER visits: Two visits to the emergency room for exams and cortisone shots
-Prescription medication: Muscle relaxers, steroid packs, ibuprofen 800, nerve pain relievers
-Acupuncture: This was tried early on and made symptoms worse
-Massages: Massages provide me with temporary relief, but do not fix the bulging disc causing the pain.
-Yoga: This irritated the disc, some stretches helped but most times caused flare ups
DIAGNOSIS
As I continued on with my non-surgical options, the MRI results came back and I met with a spine specialist for a complete diagnosis. The doctor informed me that I have a bad herniated disc in my L4-L5 vertebrae with severe spinal stenosis. The nature of the herniated disc causes it to bulge to the right and push intensely on my spinal cord. This causes a pinching of the nerves that specifically run down my right leg resulting in extreme pain and immobility.
The doctor was optimistic that physical therapy would be enough to remedy the herniated disc. I was hopeful. From there, we set up an exhausting schedule of PT sessions three times a week where I endured alternative therapies including electric stimulation, cold pack regime, manual stretches, traction, and extensive exercise routines.
As a result, my posture improved slightly, but it was a very slow and discouraging process. The pain still persisted, but it lessened for a short period of time after each session. My last option in conjunction with PT was meeting with a pain-management specialist to receive a back epidural steroid injection. The doctor described this procedure as an extremely promising one, as many patients found long-term success. Unfortunately, the injection only offered a few weeks of temporary relief.
As I continued on with my non-surgical options, the MRI results came back and I met with a spine specialist for a complete diagnosis. The doctor informed me that I have a bad herniated disc in my L4-L5 vertebrae with severe spinal stenosis. The nature of the herniated disc causes it to bulge to the right and push intensely on my spinal cord. This causes a pinching of the nerves that specifically run down my right leg resulting in extreme pain and immobility.
The doctor was optimistic that physical therapy would be enough to remedy the herniated disc. I was hopeful. From there, we set up an exhausting schedule of PT sessions three times a week where I endured alternative therapies including electric stimulation, cold pack regime, manual stretches, traction, and extensive exercise routines.
As a result, my posture improved slightly, but it was a very slow and discouraging process. The pain still persisted, but it lessened for a short period of time after each session. My last option in conjunction with PT was meeting with a pain-management specialist to receive a back epidural steroid injection. The doctor described this procedure as an extremely promising one, as many patients found long-term success. Unfortunately, the injection only offered a few weeks of temporary relief.
After meeting with my pain management doctor again, he informed me that we would do one more injection, and if that did not work, I would need to make the “cut or not cut” decision. Just before my second and final injection, the pain had consumed both of my legs and I was slowly losing my ability to walk.
As you may have guessed, the second injection didn’t work as anticipated. With this being the current state of my health, I met with my spine doctor for the final time and made the decision to cut the herniated section off. We scheduled the surgery for the end of November 2021.
THE ROAD AHEAD
Now that the surgery date is scheduled, all I can do is wait patiently, painfully, and faithfully. This journey has turned my world upside down and I am still in the middle of it. My healing process will be long and difficult, and the last thing I want when I return to full health is an onslaught of medical bills to face alone.
Having this surgery has been a light at the end of a very dark tunnel, but I am still very aware of what the post-surgery consists of: more physical therapy sessions, doctor visits, prescriptions, time off work, etc. I
am ready to have this life-changing surgery and am thankful to have the peace of mind knowing that there are others out there that are willing to assist me in my medical finances.
I want to thank you for spending the time to read my story and allowing me to be a part of such a caring and compassionate community.
With much gratitude,
Paige Rodgerson
Co-organizers (2)
Paige Rodgerson
Organizer
Henderson, NV
Sproutz Team
Co-organizer