Moving Forward From Cauda Equina
Donation protected
2+ years ago I started living my life with a painful herniated L5/S1 disc. I knew some day I'd get it fixed but being the sole income provider for my family, I needed to keep pushing and making things happen in our lives. Went from working in the copper mines,
moving to a local field service and eventually selling the few toys and things we loved the most including the house we completely remodeled and started our own transport business near debt free.
After some time and success to start showing up, my wife and I decided to start getting our health issues to some resolution. My wife had found out she had some fibrous material as well as a mass growing on her ovaries.
We then decided it would be best if she had a complete hysterectomy scheduled. During this waiting period I had gone into the doctor to get an MRI for an updated status on my herniated disc and see what options we had. The office had requested for an MRI and the insurance company had denied the request 3 times. During that week, Jennifer had her surgery and I had started getting increased pain and started loosing slight sensation in my legs. After going through a horrible weekend filled with pain and the loss of most physical involved movement, we admitted myself to the ER. After 3 attempts of an MRI we got an emergency surgery which almost took my abilities completely from the waist down.
I'm now faced with the inability to use the bathroom for both bladder and bowel control which requires me to use catheters daily and laxatives to try and keep me on a regular schedule.
 I lost over half of my sensation in my feet and I can no longer stand on my toes and find it difficult to walk. I also have "saddle numbness" which is as if you sit on a horse saddle, every part of your body that touches the saddle is numb. I've been diagnosed with Cauda Equina Syndrome which is highly rare and known very little of publicly in the U.S. This has completely changed the way I have to now live my life but has also opened my eyes to how fortunate and thankful I am. Not only for how much worse things could have been, like missing the window of being paralyzed by 12-24 hours, but how I'm using this illness as a calling to inspire others and spread the word of God. If my story can bring one person closer to God, my illness is completely worth it and I accept it.
After being unable to work for 6 weeks now, I'm asking for financial assistance to help pay for our daily expenses. Rent, insurance, food and a newly acquired work truck that was budgeted before these circumstances.
All is appreciated and God bless!
Lucas, Tristan(top), Mason & Jenn
To learn more about CES, copy the link below and paste into your browser...
http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/lower-back-pain/cauda-equina-syndrome
moving to a local field service and eventually selling the few toys and things we loved the most including the house we completely remodeled and started our own transport business near debt free. After some time and success to start showing up, my wife and I decided to start getting our health issues to some resolution. My wife had found out she had some fibrous material as well as a mass growing on her ovaries. We then decided it would be best if she had a complete hysterectomy scheduled. During this waiting period I had gone into the doctor to get an MRI for an updated status on my herniated disc and see what options we had. The office had requested for an MRI and the insurance company had denied the request 3 times. During that week, Jennifer had her surgery and I had started getting increased pain and started loosing slight sensation in my legs. After going through a horrible weekend filled with pain and the loss of most physical involved movement, we admitted myself to the ER. After 3 attempts of an MRI we got an emergency surgery which almost took my abilities completely from the waist down. I'm now faced with the inability to use the bathroom for both bladder and bowel control which requires me to use catheters daily and laxatives to try and keep me on a regular schedule. I lost over half of my sensation in my feet and I can no longer stand on my toes and find it difficult to walk. I also have "saddle numbness" which is as if you sit on a horse saddle, every part of your body that touches the saddle is numb. I've been diagnosed with Cauda Equina Syndrome which is highly rare and known very little of publicly in the U.S. This has completely changed the way I have to now live my life but has also opened my eyes to how fortunate and thankful I am. Not only for how much worse things could have been, like missing the window of being paralyzed by 12-24 hours, but how I'm using this illness as a calling to inspire others and spread the word of God. If my story can bring one person closer to God, my illness is completely worth it and I accept it. After being unable to work for 6 weeks now, I'm asking for financial assistance to help pay for our daily expenses. Rent, insurance, food and a newly acquired work truck that was budgeted before these circumstances.
All is appreciated and God bless!
Lucas, Tristan(top), Mason & JennTo learn more about CES, copy the link below and paste into your browser...
http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/lower-back-pain/cauda-equina-syndrome
Organizer
Scott Pasch
Organizer
Tucson, AZ
