Faith's Medical Bills
Spende geschützt
About 7 years ago, my 16 year old daughter, Faith began complaining about severe pain in her shoulder blades. We started what we soon learned would be years of frustrating doctor and physical therapy visits. Two years later, physical therapy was no longer working, she continued to be in pain, and had huge, painful knots in her back, and we were sent to a different specialist at Children’s Hospital. Finally, after three years without a diagnosis, doctors sent her to a pain management specialist; it seemed as though they no longer cared what was causing her pain, and my sweet daughter was losing hope.
The pain management specialist came up with a plan. During her first visit, she got 48 trigger point shots in her back. Faith would need 20 trigger point shots in her back, all at once, three times a week. When that was found ineffective, they added acupuncture. We began counseling to deal with her depression and constant anxiety attacks, and also began again with the physical therapist. Oh, and they put her on some serious pain medications, including Oxycodone and Percaset. There were times when the pain was so bad, I had to take her to the emergency room where they gave her shots that would let her fall asleep. We did this for about 4 years, with Faith’s pain level consistently between 4-6 (on a scale from 1 to 10). During this entire time, her pain level never went below 4.
Then, in August 2016, suddenly, the pain came back with a vengeance, worse than before, with a consistent pain level of 7. When she started her Junior year of high school, she used a walker to get around to her classes. Her knees and feet hurt so bad that we began to see another specialist, who finally diagnosed her with Fybromyalgia. Though we had a diagnosis finally, there was no pain relief for her.
Out of desperation, in March of this year, we went to see yet another doctor, who was not covered under our insurance. After 2 hours in his office, she came home almost pain free, and said "It's so weird to move and not have a lot of pain."
To start, her treatment plan is twice a week in his office, plus supplements for 10 weeks. It costs about $250 a week. We have been at this for 6 weeks now, and she has had no unbearably flare-ups. And she no longer needs the anti-depressants or pain meds. Once her initial treatment is complete, and she is stabilized, we hope she will only have to go quarterly.
Throughout this entire ordeal, Faith maintained a 4.0 average, with AP courses. She has also stayed involved with her community by helping out at our Church’s food pantry on Saturdays, helps friends and neighbors by pet sitting and tutors students in Chemistry, Algebra and Calculus.
The pain management specialist came up with a plan. During her first visit, she got 48 trigger point shots in her back. Faith would need 20 trigger point shots in her back, all at once, three times a week. When that was found ineffective, they added acupuncture. We began counseling to deal with her depression and constant anxiety attacks, and also began again with the physical therapist. Oh, and they put her on some serious pain medications, including Oxycodone and Percaset. There were times when the pain was so bad, I had to take her to the emergency room where they gave her shots that would let her fall asleep. We did this for about 4 years, with Faith’s pain level consistently between 4-6 (on a scale from 1 to 10). During this entire time, her pain level never went below 4.
Then, in August 2016, suddenly, the pain came back with a vengeance, worse than before, with a consistent pain level of 7. When she started her Junior year of high school, she used a walker to get around to her classes. Her knees and feet hurt so bad that we began to see another specialist, who finally diagnosed her with Fybromyalgia. Though we had a diagnosis finally, there was no pain relief for her.
Out of desperation, in March of this year, we went to see yet another doctor, who was not covered under our insurance. After 2 hours in his office, she came home almost pain free, and said "It's so weird to move and not have a lot of pain."
To start, her treatment plan is twice a week in his office, plus supplements for 10 weeks. It costs about $250 a week. We have been at this for 6 weeks now, and she has had no unbearably flare-ups. And she no longer needs the anti-depressants or pain meds. Once her initial treatment is complete, and she is stabilized, we hope she will only have to go quarterly.
Throughout this entire ordeal, Faith maintained a 4.0 average, with AP courses. She has also stayed involved with her community by helping out at our Church’s food pantry on Saturdays, helps friends and neighbors by pet sitting and tutors students in Chemistry, Algebra and Calculus.
Organisator
Jhenny Michalek
Organisator
Manassas, VA