I have written and re-written this numerous times, and I simply can not
put into words what I need to without sounding like I am desperate and
begging. Truth is, I AM desperate! If I were not a husband and father,
this situation would be a little easier to handle, but it is not, this
is “our situation”. Spring of 2015, I was forced to have a total knee
replacement. No complications really, I was just out of work for a few
months. Fall of the same year I had started experiencing back problems
and was forced to see an additional orthopedic surgeon. By November, and
just a few days shy of Thanksgiving, I was in the operating room having
back surgery. Little did, I know, this would be the beginning of what is
now my world. January of 2016, I had a post-op appointment, at which
time, was discovered that I had an infection in the surgery sight. The
infection was eating away at the hardware that had been installed. The
infection stemmed from something I contracted within the operating room.
It is not known if this was something air-borne, or if the tools used
had been contaminated. By April, I was once again back on the operating
table to remove the infected hardware. What was initially to be a 24
hour stay in the hospital, turned into 7 days. Shortly after the start
of the surgery, the general surgeon cut my pulmonary artery, the cut was
repaired and the procedure was continued. My pulmonary artery was cut
two more times that morning. I lost a lot of blood, and my body was not
responding the way in which they had hoped it would in recovering from
that trauma. My life nearly ended that morning. Before they closed me up
that morning, they were able to remove the infected hardware but could
not replace it. Which meant, I would need yet another surgery to finish
up. My stay in the hospital over that period of time was touch and go
for several days, but by the grace of God and the prayers of my family
and friends, I did make it. In May, my wife took me back to Missouri
Baptist Hospital to have my third back surgery in six months. I was
reluctant, but hopeful. There were no complications this round, and was
released from the hospital a couple days later. December of last year,
right before Christmas, I was scheduled to have some blood work and a
cat scan done, just to keep an eye out for possible infections and meet
with the surgeon to discuss the findings. I meet with Dr. R in his
office early January. I was told that I was not fusing together properly
and that I had two broken screws. I don’t even have the words to
describe how I felt about what I was hearing. Through some encouragement
from my wife, I scheduled an appointment with another surgeon for a
second opinion. I met with Dr. T in February. The doctor reviewed my cat
scan and verified the situation that I was most afraid of. Two broken
titanium screws. Dr. T explained to me that the screws used were not the
right size and therefore, broke. It was also explained to me that I
needed to be referred to a surgeon at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. Once
again, I can not explain in words how this made me feel. The referral
was made to Barnes and followed up by a phone call from someone on staff
at the hospital, who explained to me that they could not accept the
referral made by the “second opinion” doctor, that they would only
accept a referral from the originating surgeon. Additional phone calls
were made to try to work around going back to the surgeon that I
ultimately fired. Unfortunately, this was impossible to get away from. I
did meet with Dr. R the week of February 20th. He had ordered another
cat scan prior to my arrival that afternoon. He went over the findings
with me and apologized over and over again for what I had been through.
He stated that an additional surgery would be necessary by either him or
someone else and that there were no other options. He further explained
that this surgery would involve making a considerably larger cut than
what they have had to make in the past. Down time would be another six
months. Dr. R will be referring me to Barnes per my request. Through all
of this, I have missed a great deal of work. ( I have worked a total 7
months in 2 years ) I have used up all the hours I have banked to go
toward my benefits. Which means, my wife and I have had to pay out of
pocket for our insurance now for several months. As it stands now, I will not have enough banked hours to cover my benefits and will have to continue to make a monthly payment for them . I am beyond blessed to be able to draw some disability
through the union, but it isn’t a lot of money. My wife works for the
county we live in and county employees just don’t make a lot of money either.
We have used up what little we had in savings, replacing termite damaged
floors and walls in our home last year and have received help from other
family members. I have tried filing for temporary disability and have
been turned down by the government. The denial is currently being
appealed, but there is no guarantee’s this will go in my favor. (My wife
applied for assistance last year and was given \$19 a month in food
stamps) I know there is help out there, but somehow my family does not
meet the criteria to receive any of it. Needless to say, I am scared.
Scared of what is to come. I just don’t have an answer for us
financially. I have nothing to sell, and nothing left to give
up. I believe that there is something better for my family and I on the
other side of this nightmare, but we just have to get there.



I am scheduled now for surgery in St. Louis in the morning, March 2nd. Please keep myself and family in your prayers .

Thank you in advance for any help!


Steven Milz