Pain Relief for Doug Heck
Donation protected
Hi Friends! We are raising money for Doug to receive medical treatment through Radiant Pain Relief Center. Since his back injury 3 years ago this is the only thing we’ve found that has brought his severe back pain as low as a 3. Without it, his pain usually stays at a 7-9 on a daily basis. Unfortunately his worker’s compensation insurance - SAIF - will not cover this treatment! Doug’s father, Frank, and his partner, Dave, have been so generous to pay over half of the first year of membership along with all the co-pays the first year. We still owe $1500 due at the end of July 2018 for the first year’s membership. We are also trying to raise funds for the second year of membership that includes 20 treatments which now costs $3500. We are hopeful that Doug’s spinal fusion will fuse in the next 18 months and his pain will finally resolve itself.
How did we get here?
3 years ago - April 8, 2015 - Doug was working a normal day. He had to close down the Meat Department at New Seasons Market but his co-worker had to leave to catch a bus. He was left with lots of work left to do so in typical Doug fashion he worked as hard as he could. In a split second one moment would change the course of his life and our family. During his normal duties his back was seriously injured - a piece of his spine broke off and many discs were injured. He immediately felt the pain but hoped a few days of rest would help him feel better.
When the pain only got worse he saw our family chiropractor. She immediately told him she thought this was a serious injury and referred him to the neurosurgeon she had previously worked for. When he was finally able to cut through the red tape of SAIF’s workers compensation rules and see the neurosurgeon at the end of May, 2015, he received the news that he would need a spinal fusion. The neurosurgeon wanted him to get some tests done to see how many vertebrae he needed to fuse. SAIF refused to authorize the needed test and we went through the laborious process of obtaining a lawyer and going through the petitition process. With every month that went by Doug’s pain got worse and worse until he had to go to the ER 3 times in December of 2015 including Christmas Day. Finally when he had to go back for the 4th time on December 28 his neurosurgeon’s office told him to go to the ER at the hospital where they performed the surgeries. The ER admitted him and told him he would need an emergency spinal fusion. Once insurance got involved they denied the needed fusion and Doug waited in agonizing pain for 3 weeks while the hospital fought for him to have the needed fusion. Even with massive amounts of pain medication his pain ranged from a 7-10 out of 10 pain. Finally his amazing neurosurgeon said “No More! I will not charge you for my bill but I am giving you your spinal fusion.” So Doug got his first spinal fusion in late January, 2016 !
Within months Doug felt so much better! He was able to get off all pain medication and started physical therapy. Unfortunately he had been unable to work since his initial injury and the paltry amount of worker’s compensation payments (not even 1/3 of the amount he was making) was not paying the bills. We had to get rid of our newer, safe family vehicle and sell our home. Doug’s dad and partner were so helpful working days on end to get our house ready to sell. Aimee even sold the house without a real estate agent to save money. In June of 2016 we said good bye to our first family home.
Unfortunately, Doug’s pain slowly started coming back in July of 2016. We thought, at first, that he had overexerted himself during the move. As time went on his pain became more severe again. His primary care physician prescribed him stronger pain medications but those often made him ill. Doug tried everything we heard about - prayer, acupuncture, chiropractic care, supplements, homeopathy, special diets, energy healing, and more. Finally his PCP gave him a prescription for fentanyl patches. SAIF once again refused to pay for these but since the patches helped so much we paid the out-of-pocket costs to give Doug much needed pain relief that didn’t make him sick to his stomach. The patches only provided relief for so long though. His pain just kept increasing. SAIF refused to pay for him to see his neurosurgeon again but his neurosurgeon agreed to see him for free so we could figure out what was going on. After some special tests his neurosurgeon said his back had failed to fuse, something called a non-union. He said Doug could try for another fusion but he would have to go to a different surgeon as SAIF no longer covered his practice. He found a new neurosurgeon who was covered by SAIF and in April of 2017 Doug was able to see this new neurosurgeon who felt Doug needed another surgery. Once again, SAIF denied it. We began the appeal process but Doug’s pain continued to climb.
When Doug is in severe pain it consumes him. His only desire is to distract himself from his pain so he doesn’t have to think about it. He avoids people including his family. He becomes a completely different person - angry, snappy, impatient, distracted... There are days that are so bad that he can’t even walk. He can’t be the Dad he wants to be - playful, patient, active...
Finally in June of 2017 we went to see our naturopath to see if he had any ideas of how to relieve Doug’s pain. He suggested Radiant Pain Relief Center. Doug was very opposed to going but the consultation was free so Aimee didn’t give him an option. The first session worked a little and lowered his pain a bit. The second free session worked a little more but we weren’t convinced. Radiant was kind enough to give him 5 free sessions to see how it worked and sure enough by the 5th session we saw his pain go down about 50%. Doug’s Dad agreed to pay the first half of the membership fee and the co-pays so Doug could sign up and get as many sessions as he needed. There were some weeks when Doug had to go every single day to relieve his pain. Typically patients at Radiant see more long term relief but we think that since Doug’s back no longer had 3 discs and no fusion material like it was supposed to that the pain just kept coming. We are grateful that the treatments at Radiant kept his pain down to a manageable amount which improved his mood so much! It has enabled him to be more present with his wife and kids.
If you are local to the Portland area and suffer severe pain we highly recommend it! They offer free sessions to start so you can see if it works for you!
Www.radiantpainrelief.com
In the meantime, finally in December of 2017 we received a miraculous call that SAIF had reversed their position and approved the new spinal fusion surgery! Doug continued to go to Radiant leading up to the surgery on February 13, 2018. Because he got pain relief from the non narcotic methods that Radiant uses, his recovery from the second spinal fusion has been drastically easier than the first fusion. After the first spinal fusion he had to be on a pain pump and his body went into shock due to the intense pain. It was terrifying watching him code and see all the nurses rush in. After the second surgery the nurses wheeled him by and he was eating a popsicle and whistling! He has been able to walk and start physical therapy much sooner this time around as well. His neurosurgeon is very hopeful that this surgery will be a success and that the fusion material will solidify this time. He used a very different method than the first surgery and Doug also uses a bone stimulator to help promote the fusion.
Unfortunately, Doug’s pain still continues to be intense. There are still days that the pain is so unbearable that it is hard for him to stand. He has weaned himself off the fentanyl patches because of the cost and the long term effects. He has dilaudid to take as needed but this still has other ill effects on his body. Aimee keeps encouraging him to go back to Radiant but he is resistant because of the cost.
Doug has touched so many people because of his kindness, gentleness and love. He is so well respected because of how upstanding he lives his life. So many of you have offered to help us over the past 3 years but we didn’t really know of a way to do that until now. Please don’t feel obligated to help but if you feel so led know that we will forever be grateful!
How did we get here?
3 years ago - April 8, 2015 - Doug was working a normal day. He had to close down the Meat Department at New Seasons Market but his co-worker had to leave to catch a bus. He was left with lots of work left to do so in typical Doug fashion he worked as hard as he could. In a split second one moment would change the course of his life and our family. During his normal duties his back was seriously injured - a piece of his spine broke off and many discs were injured. He immediately felt the pain but hoped a few days of rest would help him feel better.
When the pain only got worse he saw our family chiropractor. She immediately told him she thought this was a serious injury and referred him to the neurosurgeon she had previously worked for. When he was finally able to cut through the red tape of SAIF’s workers compensation rules and see the neurosurgeon at the end of May, 2015, he received the news that he would need a spinal fusion. The neurosurgeon wanted him to get some tests done to see how many vertebrae he needed to fuse. SAIF refused to authorize the needed test and we went through the laborious process of obtaining a lawyer and going through the petitition process. With every month that went by Doug’s pain got worse and worse until he had to go to the ER 3 times in December of 2015 including Christmas Day. Finally when he had to go back for the 4th time on December 28 his neurosurgeon’s office told him to go to the ER at the hospital where they performed the surgeries. The ER admitted him and told him he would need an emergency spinal fusion. Once insurance got involved they denied the needed fusion and Doug waited in agonizing pain for 3 weeks while the hospital fought for him to have the needed fusion. Even with massive amounts of pain medication his pain ranged from a 7-10 out of 10 pain. Finally his amazing neurosurgeon said “No More! I will not charge you for my bill but I am giving you your spinal fusion.” So Doug got his first spinal fusion in late January, 2016 !
Within months Doug felt so much better! He was able to get off all pain medication and started physical therapy. Unfortunately he had been unable to work since his initial injury and the paltry amount of worker’s compensation payments (not even 1/3 of the amount he was making) was not paying the bills. We had to get rid of our newer, safe family vehicle and sell our home. Doug’s dad and partner were so helpful working days on end to get our house ready to sell. Aimee even sold the house without a real estate agent to save money. In June of 2016 we said good bye to our first family home.
Unfortunately, Doug’s pain slowly started coming back in July of 2016. We thought, at first, that he had overexerted himself during the move. As time went on his pain became more severe again. His primary care physician prescribed him stronger pain medications but those often made him ill. Doug tried everything we heard about - prayer, acupuncture, chiropractic care, supplements, homeopathy, special diets, energy healing, and more. Finally his PCP gave him a prescription for fentanyl patches. SAIF once again refused to pay for these but since the patches helped so much we paid the out-of-pocket costs to give Doug much needed pain relief that didn’t make him sick to his stomach. The patches only provided relief for so long though. His pain just kept increasing. SAIF refused to pay for him to see his neurosurgeon again but his neurosurgeon agreed to see him for free so we could figure out what was going on. After some special tests his neurosurgeon said his back had failed to fuse, something called a non-union. He said Doug could try for another fusion but he would have to go to a different surgeon as SAIF no longer covered his practice. He found a new neurosurgeon who was covered by SAIF and in April of 2017 Doug was able to see this new neurosurgeon who felt Doug needed another surgery. Once again, SAIF denied it. We began the appeal process but Doug’s pain continued to climb.
When Doug is in severe pain it consumes him. His only desire is to distract himself from his pain so he doesn’t have to think about it. He avoids people including his family. He becomes a completely different person - angry, snappy, impatient, distracted... There are days that are so bad that he can’t even walk. He can’t be the Dad he wants to be - playful, patient, active...
Finally in June of 2017 we went to see our naturopath to see if he had any ideas of how to relieve Doug’s pain. He suggested Radiant Pain Relief Center. Doug was very opposed to going but the consultation was free so Aimee didn’t give him an option. The first session worked a little and lowered his pain a bit. The second free session worked a little more but we weren’t convinced. Radiant was kind enough to give him 5 free sessions to see how it worked and sure enough by the 5th session we saw his pain go down about 50%. Doug’s Dad agreed to pay the first half of the membership fee and the co-pays so Doug could sign up and get as many sessions as he needed. There were some weeks when Doug had to go every single day to relieve his pain. Typically patients at Radiant see more long term relief but we think that since Doug’s back no longer had 3 discs and no fusion material like it was supposed to that the pain just kept coming. We are grateful that the treatments at Radiant kept his pain down to a manageable amount which improved his mood so much! It has enabled him to be more present with his wife and kids.
If you are local to the Portland area and suffer severe pain we highly recommend it! They offer free sessions to start so you can see if it works for you!
Www.radiantpainrelief.com
In the meantime, finally in December of 2017 we received a miraculous call that SAIF had reversed their position and approved the new spinal fusion surgery! Doug continued to go to Radiant leading up to the surgery on February 13, 2018. Because he got pain relief from the non narcotic methods that Radiant uses, his recovery from the second spinal fusion has been drastically easier than the first fusion. After the first spinal fusion he had to be on a pain pump and his body went into shock due to the intense pain. It was terrifying watching him code and see all the nurses rush in. After the second surgery the nurses wheeled him by and he was eating a popsicle and whistling! He has been able to walk and start physical therapy much sooner this time around as well. His neurosurgeon is very hopeful that this surgery will be a success and that the fusion material will solidify this time. He used a very different method than the first surgery and Doug also uses a bone stimulator to help promote the fusion.
Unfortunately, Doug’s pain still continues to be intense. There are still days that the pain is so unbearable that it is hard for him to stand. He has weaned himself off the fentanyl patches because of the cost and the long term effects. He has dilaudid to take as needed but this still has other ill effects on his body. Aimee keeps encouraging him to go back to Radiant but he is resistant because of the cost.
Doug has touched so many people because of his kindness, gentleness and love. He is so well respected because of how upstanding he lives his life. So many of you have offered to help us over the past 3 years but we didn’t really know of a way to do that until now. Please don’t feel obligated to help but if you feel so led know that we will forever be grateful!
Organizer
Aimee Heck
Organizer
Wilsonville, OR