Failed Medical Device Story & Surgery
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Hi, my name is Rhoda Joy!
As a physical therapist & neurologic music therapist, it has always been my goal to help others in their time of need. That is why I got into this field in the first place and when a dying man needed to be lifted back into his bed, I didn’t hesitate to help. With the assistance of 2 other therapists, we began to lift his rigid body back to bed; but the weight was too much to handle, and he began to fall back to the floor.
I knew the fall would cause him extreme pain, so I (intuitively) supported the weight of his fall without a thought to my own safety to help him transition (safely) to the floor. In that moment…my life was forever changed.
I suffered a multiple level spinal injury which left me unable to sit, walk, stand, speak, and function as a normal person for over four years. I have lived a world of pain every day since that accident. I was unable to tolerate light or sound and found myself falling into a dark hole of despair and hopelessness. Was this what the rest of my life would be like?
In 2010, almost 5 years after the initial spinal accident, I invested every dime of my savings to fly to Stenum, Germany and undergo what I expected to be restorative surgery on my spine. It was a chance to get my life back: a chance to finally be free from pain and regain my independence.
The surgery consisted of orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Ritter Lang inserting three medical devices (M6 artificial discs manufactured by Spinal Kinetics, now Orthofix) into my spine which would replace my damaged discs and give me back my life.
On the second day after the surgery, I began experiencing excruciating pain. My lower back implant (2 Level ADR M6 Lumbar Implant) was malfunctioning as indicated by X-rays, however, I was told it was only due to swelling and muscle weakness. No admittance of the surgery being a failure, no admittance of the implant being defective.
I was left unable to sit up and stuck in a foreign country for over three months with Dr. Ritter Lang refusing to even do a follow up appointment and address the failed procedure. Four months after surgery…my spine spontaneously fractured, and my world collapsed.
Despite providing them with all my follow-up images and documentation from U.S. doctors, Dr. Ritter Lang continued to deny that there had been implant failure or structural damage. Neither the spine manufacturer Spinal Kinetics, now Orthofix, nor Dr. Ritter Lang felt responsible, and the implants continued to fail causing spinal column collapse, accelerated spinal degeneration, compression of spinal nerves, with non-stop medical costs that have led to financial bankruptcy.
That is why I am here today to seek your support in recovering my life. To hopefully obtain the funds to pay for back and neck surgery here in America to repair the damage caused by the initial injury and the failed implants.
100% of your generous donations will go directly towards the following:
● Housing (AirBnB) to stay one week post op in town of surgeon
● Surgeon costs (My case requires 2 surgeons: one to access the spine and one to repair the spine.)
● Physical Therapy Co-pays
● Hospital co pays
● Medication
● Adaptive Equipment for following surgery while I have post-op restrictions
● Surgical Costs/Co-pays pre-surgical
● Surgical Costs/Co-pays Post-Surgical
● Caretaker/live in assist/driver for 3 months while I have restrictions
● Gas to Surgeon appointments 4 hours away
● Gas for multiple physical therapy appointments
● A Firm Queen mattress to support my new spine
I cannot put into words what your support means to me. I have gone through so much these last few years with no one taking accountability for the extensive damage and pain I am forced to live in every day.
Surgeons have assessed that with my current symptoms, I can’t wait much longer for a surgery. It’s crucial that they get the pressure off my spinal cord & decompress the nerves in my spine to preserve the most function and to prevent further damage.
I have trained myself to keep a positive outlook, and I began recording my journey through darkness in the form of music and soul filled poetry in the hopes to help even just one person living without light. Listen at the link below.
Soundcloud link: https://soundcloud.com/rhodajoy
Thank you from the bottom of my very being for your support and please also share my campaign with your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers in the hopes that one day soon I will no longer have to live in a veil of darkness.
As a physical therapist & neurologic music therapist, it has always been my goal to help others in their time of need. That is why I got into this field in the first place and when a dying man needed to be lifted back into his bed, I didn’t hesitate to help. With the assistance of 2 other therapists, we began to lift his rigid body back to bed; but the weight was too much to handle, and he began to fall back to the floor.
I knew the fall would cause him extreme pain, so I (intuitively) supported the weight of his fall without a thought to my own safety to help him transition (safely) to the floor. In that moment…my life was forever changed.
I suffered a multiple level spinal injury which left me unable to sit, walk, stand, speak, and function as a normal person for over four years. I have lived a world of pain every day since that accident. I was unable to tolerate light or sound and found myself falling into a dark hole of despair and hopelessness. Was this what the rest of my life would be like?
In 2010, almost 5 years after the initial spinal accident, I invested every dime of my savings to fly to Stenum, Germany and undergo what I expected to be restorative surgery on my spine. It was a chance to get my life back: a chance to finally be free from pain and regain my independence.
The surgery consisted of orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Ritter Lang inserting three medical devices (M6 artificial discs manufactured by Spinal Kinetics, now Orthofix) into my spine which would replace my damaged discs and give me back my life.
On the second day after the surgery, I began experiencing excruciating pain. My lower back implant (2 Level ADR M6 Lumbar Implant) was malfunctioning as indicated by X-rays, however, I was told it was only due to swelling and muscle weakness. No admittance of the surgery being a failure, no admittance of the implant being defective.
I was left unable to sit up and stuck in a foreign country for over three months with Dr. Ritter Lang refusing to even do a follow up appointment and address the failed procedure. Four months after surgery…my spine spontaneously fractured, and my world collapsed.
Despite providing them with all my follow-up images and documentation from U.S. doctors, Dr. Ritter Lang continued to deny that there had been implant failure or structural damage. Neither the spine manufacturer Spinal Kinetics, now Orthofix, nor Dr. Ritter Lang felt responsible, and the implants continued to fail causing spinal column collapse, accelerated spinal degeneration, compression of spinal nerves, with non-stop medical costs that have led to financial bankruptcy.
That is why I am here today to seek your support in recovering my life. To hopefully obtain the funds to pay for back and neck surgery here in America to repair the damage caused by the initial injury and the failed implants.
100% of your generous donations will go directly towards the following:
● Housing (AirBnB) to stay one week post op in town of surgeon
● Surgeon costs (My case requires 2 surgeons: one to access the spine and one to repair the spine.)
● Physical Therapy Co-pays
● Hospital co pays
● Medication
● Adaptive Equipment for following surgery while I have post-op restrictions
● Surgical Costs/Co-pays pre-surgical
● Surgical Costs/Co-pays Post-Surgical
● Caretaker/live in assist/driver for 3 months while I have restrictions
● Gas to Surgeon appointments 4 hours away
● Gas for multiple physical therapy appointments
● A Firm Queen mattress to support my new spine
I cannot put into words what your support means to me. I have gone through so much these last few years with no one taking accountability for the extensive damage and pain I am forced to live in every day.
Surgeons have assessed that with my current symptoms, I can’t wait much longer for a surgery. It’s crucial that they get the pressure off my spinal cord & decompress the nerves in my spine to preserve the most function and to prevent further damage.
I have trained myself to keep a positive outlook, and I began recording my journey through darkness in the form of music and soul filled poetry in the hopes to help even just one person living without light. Listen at the link below.
Soundcloud link: https://soundcloud.com/rhodajoy
Thank you from the bottom of my very being for your support and please also share my campaign with your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers in the hopes that one day soon I will no longer have to live in a veil of darkness.
With a heart of gratitude,
Rhoda Joy
P.S. Additional information regarding how other lives have been affected by the M6 & Dr Ritter Lang. #OurLivesMatter
This is a 3D image of my Lumbar Spine with failed medical L-M6 devices (Artificial discs at the Lumbar L3/L4 & L4/L5 Levels).
This is an X-ray of an image of my Lumbar Spine with the failed medical devices (Artificial discs at the Lumbar L3/L4 & L4/L5 Levels):
Image of the M6, manufactured by Spinal Kinetics-(now Orthofix), at the L4-L5 level that sits in my spinal canal, creating constant neurological symptoms (Top View).
Surgical Plan: 3 surgical stages to safely repair the damaged spinal levels.Dr. John Aschar, MD, orthopedic surgeon, of the Cantor Medical Institute, will repair the lumbar spine at the L3-L4 & L4-L5 levels, straighten my low back, and decompress the lumbar nerve roots.
Phase 2: T12-L1 repair
Organizer
Rhoda Joy
Organizer
Winter Springs, FL
