Fixing a Broken Person
Donation protected
Hello, my name is Sean McGuinn and I am raising funds to help pay for a “regenerative medical” procedure for my spine. The procedure would use three separate kinds of regenerative treatments using my stem cells, which would most likely be harvested from the bone marrow in the iliac crest of my hip bone. The procedure is not pleasant, but the long term effects would be “life changing”!
My pain management doctor, Dr. Zed (Bio at the bottom of my story) has had personal experience with the stem cell treatments and it saved him from a total hip placement procedure. A month after the treatment Dr.Z was back exercising at the gym and playing on his adult soccer team pain free. That was 7 years ago!
In addition to treating my back, my cells could be used to treat the osteoarthritis in both of my knees as well, kind of a two for one deal!
I’m a good candidate for these regenerative treatments, as my cells are still relatively young and would respond well.
Unfortunately, regenerative medicine is not covered by any health insurance companies. Thus, my plea for help. I understand it is very expensive; but in the long run my health, time and wallet would greatly benefit. This medicine is the type of “miracle” I have hoped for and it could very well fill the void that’s been absent from my life for so long.
So, here’s my story…
It all started in 2013 in the waves of Ocean City, MD. I was throwing my one year old son up and catching him as the waves crashed and his giggles filled the salty ocean air. It was that joyous moment between a father and his son where my life would change traumatically for the next 10 years.
Upon returning home from that vacation I found out that my L4-L5 disc had herniated. Turns out the disc had already been compromised prior to my activity in the waves due to degeneration, of which I was completely unaware. The doctor diagnosed me with degenerative disc disease.
My life changed quickly and it made my head spin. I could not feel most of my right leg and foot, so I got around with a cane. This presented major challenges, as I’m an Environmental Educator for the public school system in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. This involves working almost entirely outside and being on my feet from the moment I get out of bed in the morning to the moment I get back in at night. Daily tasks were difficult as well. I could not put my own socks and shoes on. I could not help around the house. I couldn’t sleep. There was no position that was comfortable and the pain was always excruciating. I had a hard time focusing and gravity really sucked (still does). I watched as other’s did things I was physically incapable of doing and it became difficult to handle. I watched Dad’s chase their kid’s around, teach them how to ride a bike, throw them in the pool, build sand castles, go sledding in the snow and carry them when they got tired. I became severely internalized with my thoughts and emotions. I became a different person, an angry person, and my depression got worse. Ah yes, I forgot to mention that I have a mental illness that I was diagnosed with in 2009. My diagnosis was Major Depressive Disorder, severe Anxiety and ADD. My “new normal” became very difficult to adjust too.
Surgery in the beginning was not in the picture. Instead we tried non-surgical treatment, A LOT of non-surgical treatment. I endured physical therapy, pain management, epidural injections, and then yoga and acupuncture when modern medicine wasn’t working. I also became quite familiar with an MRI tube from my many trips to the radiologist.
Fast forward to January of 2014…A microdiscectomy and lamenectomy surgery gets scheduled to clean out the bad disc. This was mostly because the nerve damage in my right leg was so severe the surgeon feared permanent damage. My right foot pointed inwards and dragged as I walked, “drop foot”.
Recovery from the first surgery was LONG! It was almost 3 weeks before I could do stairs. I was bed-ridden for a couple months with limited time being vertical. Once I was able to start PT it was a long and slow road. It turned out that I had disc material impinging my nerve, but also impinging the nerve was a bone spur (no wonder the injections never worked) that was discovered after they opened me up. My right leg and foot was very weak after the procedure and it took years (about 5-6) to get to where it needed to be.
Life after the first surgery was extremely difficult.
EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. was a challenge! My identity had been lost and I struggled to cope.
For the next four years I fell apart; physically, emotionally and mentally. I struggled through every aspect of my life. My mental health was greatly impacted. My meds were increased and I finally found a therapist I connected with. During all of this I searched for a new surgeon, as I wasn’t very keen of the first doc. After a couple appointments with surgeon’s who lets just say, did not meet my criteria, I was told about Dr. Justin Park of Mercy Medical Center.
From our initial appointment I told Dr. Park, “I do not wish to go around the carousel of non-surgical procedures. Been there, done that. I just want a life again.” Well after a few months of “riding the carousel” again and no improvements, the decision for a fusion of my L4-L5 was decided.
In January of 2018 I had my second surgery, two rods and four screws. Recovery this time was not nearly as limiting. However, I got a blood clot in my lower right leg, so there was that.
I will say that the fusion surgery was very successful. I’ve been able to do things that I have not been able to do in almost 10 years, but I still cannot due many of the things I loved prior to when everything started. I have different rules I must abide by in order to slow my degeneration. However, sometimes you still get a curve ball, and it got thrown at me in the summer of 2020.
I woke up one morning after gardening the day before to my upper left thigh being completely numb and pain in the lower left side of my back. The pain I felt was all to familiar and I knew I had herniated a new disc. It was my L2-L3, which unfortunately meant the degeneration skipped up a level. Fortunately for me however, Dr. Park referred me to a new pain management office who were able to help treat the disc through an epidural injection. I’ve gotten almost two years from that injection, which brings me to present time.
Now at 42 years young I’ve got two major back surgeries under my belt. I recently had another epidural injection for my new “problem child” disc, L2-L3. There’s a strong possibility of another fusion at that level, which would leave my remaining lumbar discs in a vulnerable and stressed position. It might only be a matter of time after that until my entire lumbar spine would need to be fused. I’d much rather do a less invasive procedure like regenerative treatments than more surgeries.
I’ve got to say that these past ten years have been the most challenging of my entire life. I literally got broken down until there was nothing more of ME left, I was a shell of a person. At times I contemplated my place on this Earth, but the thought of my family keeps me fighting. My wife and children (10, 7, 10mo.) have endured so much and continue to support me. They remain my light when everything else is dark.
Please help me to reach my goal. I am truly grateful for anything you can contribute to my cause.
Thank you!
-Sean
Here are the links to Dr. Z and the treatments:
Organizer
Sean McGuinn
Organizer
Annapolis, MD