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4th Spinal Surgery...another FAILURE!!!

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Firstly Happy 2020 Everyone,

I know it's been quite some time since I reached out to update you on my condition.  It is already February 2020, and I must apologize for just now contacting you.  Well, the last time I reached out to you I had the 10 hour corrective fusion surgery, removing the screws and rods through my spine and replacing them through my abdomen.  We all thought the surgery went well and unfortunately, I spoke too soon.  Yes, I was able to stand up straight and I was thinking everything (especially the pain in my legs) would eventually get better.  However, I was wrong!  My legs are worse now than they have ever been.  I  apologize again for not telling you but I was tired of not having any good news to share.  I also was praying that with time and physical therapy, I would become strong enough and my pain would decrease.  That scenario would then allow me to be mobile and walk on my own without assistance. 

To say I am disappointed is an understatement.  I am still using a cane in my home and a walker outdoors.  I also still need the assistance of my two home aides to help me get through daily functioning, back and forth to the doctors, and to assist with the upkeep of my home.  I am now at the point that I really need donations to help me keep my home, pay for alternative therapy and take full control of my own 
Unfortunately, it seems that the misdiagnoses and the delay in proper treatment caused a host of problems; possibly permanent nerve damage.  I already knew that I had a lot of severe nerve damage.  I demanded a full nerve conduction study to find out.  Those screws needed to be taken out of my spine and my nerves much sooner.  I had been to at least 10 surgeons that would not help me.   Instead I was diagnosed and treated for a disease I did not ever have. 

So the outcome now is that my legs are worse than they have ever been.  Yes, my back was allowing me to stand up straighter for a short time.  However, now my legs are in so much pain and lock all the time, so I'm still being treated for muscle spasms and the locking of my joints.  Needless to say, this continued to cause me chronic pain 24/7 as well.  I was so disappointed and didn't know what I would do next.  The doctors have never been straight up truthful with me about my nerve damage and my other ailments.  So at this point, it's hard to trust them now.  I know that nerve damage if not permanent takes many long, slow years to repair itself.  If my damage is permanent Nerve So my Pan management doctors felt adamant that I needed one last surgery , as well as the chronic pain that keeps me unable to walk without assistance was the nerve damage throughout my body from neck down to my toes     am finally reaching out to you all to update you on my condition.  This morning, as I prepare for my 9:30 am MRI Scan of my lumbar spine, I am anxious and worried.  I haven't been sleeping well for a little while now, and I'm tired. I have another MRI, this Monday afternoon, then maybe I can sleep. I'll add the cds of the results to the collection of my other 45 cds of MRI scans, CT Scans, UltraSound Sonograms, and X-Rays. 

Last time I put this page up, we all had high hopes that the corrective surgery I was getting
on July 31, 2018, (which was my 3rd surgery) would help me get better.  I would stand up straighter, and have a lot less pain.  Then after healing and getting physical rehabilitation, I we prayed and thought I would be walking without assistance by now.  Well, the picture I uploaded is of all my surgeries from the back side.  So you're seeing what is now my 4th surgery, which I had this past September 23, 2019.  So it is now past 7 years since the first botched spinal fusion surgery on December 2012. This is why, I have not updated you all.  I didn't have any good news to tell you and I was and still am very disappointed.  The nerve damage from the screws and rods sitting in my nerves, while the doctors had misdiagnosed me twice and were treating me for the wrong thing for several years, caused significant nerve damage.  We knew I had nerve damage but I was being optimistic, hoping it would not be so bad.  WE don't know if it's reversible or permanent yet. It takes many years for nerves to repair themselves, if its reversible.  

So, with my legs in the worse shape ever,  the pain has increased and is in more areas now.  It is now affecting my feet terribly also. I had a feeling after that first messy surgery, it would be difficult to get right again.  I just did not want to believe it. 

My 3rd corrective surgery, when the screws and rods were taken out from my spine, and replaced through my abdomen, the surgeon did what he was supposed to do.  Even with the 10 hour surgery that caused me great pain to heal and then the physical therapy; their was something still not right.  It was my legs.  I had balance problems and pain in my legs before the surgery and we hoped the removal of the hardware would help.  We were wrong.     

 So now the nerve medication, which I stopped immediately when prescribed a few years ago for the nerve pain, was an option again.  I tried different nerve medications, but they all make me feel totally out of it.  I can not live like that, and didn't want my son to see his mother out of it daily.  I decided to live with the pain.  Nerve pain is the worse pain ever!!! 

Last option was to try the pain stimulator, which I didn't want another surgery, but I had no other options.  Nerve damage if mines is not permanent still takes many years to reverse.  I don't know if my nerve damage is reversible or not and I'm thinking on the bright side that it's reversible but I still have been stuck in my house for years now, missed many graduations of my nieces and nephews.  I can not go food shopping at Shop Rite anymore because it's too big for me to walk through.  I go from my apartment to my location and use my walker to get to a place where I can sit.  So being that this is now what my life has become ...I just stay at home.  I have a very poor quality of life.  So I had the pan stimulator surgery and it has not worked at all.  If anything it has caused more pain in my back where it is placed.  I seem to not be able to win for anything.  However, I am NEVER giving up.  I am getting the mri to rule out some things and maybe get some answers.  I must see more specialists and it always takes a long time before I can get a doctor who is decent or good enough and wants to help me.  Many doctors do not want to get involved with a case like me that's so complex.  I'm not a human being anymore, I'm a case, being treated like a guinea pig.  So I have taken control of my plan of care, but don't have any funds to do what I need to do.  I need donations to get a yoga instructor, I need funds to get acupuncture, I need funds to join a gym and do water therapy, ( there is not one physical therapy place except way put in Long Island that has aqua therapy)  I need to get up early and go to the gym about 6 blocks from my house and get my own lane and do my water therapy.  I've done it when I was a teacher because they had low rates for teachers but you could only go between certain hours.  I am now scarred terribly for life, have more pain than ever, have more hardware in my body that I can't go through security walk-throughs , like at the airports, and they can't use the wand.  I want this stimulator and the battery out of my body!  I need funds to buy fresh fruits and vegetables to make my daily smoothies, eating healthy is costly.  Having the spinal cord stimulator implanted on my spine with this magnetic force can cause these extreme problems.  The stimulator, along with a battery, is what I had implanted during my last surgery on September 23, 2019.  I didn't update about that surgery because I was not in a good place mentally, after the passing of my only brother, Harold on August 31, 2019.  I am of course still grieving this tremendous loss.  So back to the MRI, the spinal cord pain stimulator was implanted because it was supposed to interfere with my brains pain signals therefore, decreasing the pain.  It has a remote control and must be turned off ten minutes before the scan tomorrow.  Why must everything be so complex with treating me?

Now, I am apologizing to my caring and concerned family and friends, for not keeping everyone updated on my condition. I wasn't trying to be secretive.  I was just not happy with not having good news to report.  So I have been recycling; using my old pictures on my timeline, just to post something and be seen, so you all did't worry.  I figured that by 2020, I would definitely be walking without my walker and going back and forth to physical therapy, feeling stronger and with better balance and control.  I know some of you have seen a few recent pictures that have been posted with my family and you must have noticed that I didn't look healthier, nor living without the pain. 

Yes, the last surgery that was the corrective surgery was the last update I gave.  I was sure after that I was going to be better.  Then after that 3rd surgery when I had the replacing of the screws and rods, from time to time, when I needed to motivate myself.  I thought I would be good by now and you would’ve never had to know the suffering and the very poor quality of life that I' have been living. But I had to come clean. I owe you that. The picture  above is my spine incisions, old and new, and the incision where they put a battery inside of my lower buttocks, during my 4th spine surgery on September 23, 2019.

I first came on this platform because my insurance doesn't pay for alternative natural home remedies and other non-invasive treatments, such as yoga, acupuncture, one-on-one physical therapy, aqua therapy, herbal and natural supplements,, diet changes (blending and drinking fresh fruits and vegetables daily, which is pricey) and more.  or one on one physical therapy. These alternatives will make a difference in the inflammation in my joints and nerves, which I have much nerve damage throughout my body.  Nerve damage that has occurred over a long period of time as mines did can be permanent, but I'm praying its reversible, however, it takes many years to repair itself.  In the mean time nerve pain is the worse pain of all. The nerve pain medication makes me groggy, confused, and dysfunctional.  I guess my body can get used to it, but I refuse to take medication that does make me feel not in control, so I don't accept them.  

I’ve had 2 more spinal surgeries since then. Pain Management gave me an ultimatum, try the stimulator or no more treatment. They are all under the pressure of new FDA regulations. So on September 23, 2019 I had a pain stimulator implantation surgery. This was the last option the doctors told me I had; besides implanting a medicine pump. The medicine is what I want to stay away from. Since my corrective surgery my back only felt better for a few months but my legs bothered me as soon as I got up the first day after the surgery. I told the surgeon. He said it will go away. Well it got worse. Since the Stimulator surgery in September, my back is now hurting again, and my walking has become the most difficult ever and the most painful, since the beginning of this whole ordeal. So the nerve damage is not getting better or reversing. I know it takes many years to heal. Is the nerve damage permanent? Only time will tell. If permanent, then that’s a whole other path I’d have to walk.

Being treated for a misdiagnosed condition delayed proper treatment for several years. This delay caused a host of problems; possibly permanent nerve damage.

I really have to give this to God and let him do his thing, while still seeking out new doctors. I have lost my job of teaching; which was my passion. I am in so much debt from when I did make a decent salary. I really don’t care too much about the debt. I do care about surviving and alternative treatments that should help me. Yoga, acupuncture, one on one physical therapy, and other natural, herbal and non invasive treatments is what I need to do now. Medicare doesn’t cover any of what I need.

I am in more pain than ever before. Nerve pain is the worse and nerve medication also is the worse. It keeps you groggy and makes you confused and dysfunctional. I refuse to take it. I need help my fb family and friends. I have been in my house every day with a home aide, barely being able to walk to the kitchen. I am in trouble fb and I live off my disability check which doesn’t take care of my basic bills at home, my sons expenses, nor the medical bills I continue to stack. My son has two more years of college. He’s a great young man, and son. I feel horrible, as these past 7 years since the first botched surgery took the mom he knew away from him. He takes care of me now after he gets home and the home aides leave. He wouldn’t go away to college. He even took his first two years off to work and be with me. He must finish his education so he can take care of himself in the near future.

I’ve accepted that my old life is over. But that doesn’t mean I can’t get well and start a new life. I hope you don’t think I’ve been deceptive. I just didn’t want to complain or ask for help again. However, I can’t move forward without help. My family has mortgages, bills and high tuitions to pay. They can’t pay my bills and take care of us and their families. They do their best to help.

I really hope you understand that it’s hard for me to realize that I will never be the same. But it’s Gods plan. I am thankful to still be here for another new year. I also plan on being here for many more. However, I needed to let you know my truth and what I have really been challenged with.

I still walk with a walker, (Medicare won’t give me a scooter), my legs are tremendously off balance. To go anywhere outside for a lengthy amount of time, I must take medication.

I need donations, if any of you can. I’d appreciate so much, if you can also share my page with your friends. Your prayers pulled me through these surgeries. Now I have my own work. I can’t lose our home. That’s all I have.

Unfortunately, Last time I sent out an update, we all were very hopeful about the corrective spinal fusion surgery on July 31, 2018.

Yes, after the revisions, I was able to stand up tall and walk with my back much straighter. For a few months, I was thrilled, then I started having more leg pain than before, even though I was doing physical therapy. I was told by various surgeons the only option left was to implant a Pain Stimulator in my spine. The bottom line is now after my 4th Spinal Surgery on this past 9/23/2019, my backs in pain again and legs got even worse. Didn’t think it could get worse. I’ve been to so many doctors.

I’m in a terrible position. I have been categorized as a home bound chronic pain patient but can not get a scooter. Trumps cuts also cut my food stamps saying my son needs to work more hours while going to school full time, doing an Internship AND he needs to work another 20 hours a week. So now I’m waiting for a telephone fair hearing. This is my life; it’s like a job fighting to get healthy. Suffering with chronic pain daily is no joke. When does all this end???!!!! At this point I have no other option because insurance doesn’t cover aqua therapy, yoga, acupuncture or natural home and herbal remedies.

I place all my faith in God, prayer and myself!! I’m permanently certified as a NYC elementary school teacher. So I plan on tutoring as soon as I can stabilize my balance and gain stamina and strength. I’m looking for a great vascular doctor about my nerve damage and the swelling of my feet daily.  I walk barefoot all day in my house and wear sneakers that are too big when I go outdoors.  I can not buy regular shoes or sneakers.  I need special footwear that is pricey. 

I am never going to give up though... I also don’t have any other options now. Please help me plan and lead my own recovery and donate. Thank all of you for your previous donations. I had so many student loans, which are gone now. I have fewer, but still have many medical bills, my basic bills at home which I seriously need help to get in front of. So

Please donate if you can...
$10, $20, $40, $50, $100 ...and/or please share my page with some friends. I also welcome prayers. Rest In Peace my sweet beloved brother, Harold Bing Jr. and Uncle William Bing Jr.; my new guardian angels.

Gratefully,
Sharon “Freckles” Bing

Organizer

Sharon Bing
Organizer
New York, NY

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