Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirrel
so basically you can choose between barely being able to walk now, or potentially being paralyzed after surgery?
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basically, oversimplified and squashed down into one sentence, yeah.
i went through the same decision before i had my surgery. none of the more conventional treatments were helping and i was already on a good dose of pain meds. there was no relief in sight, but here was a chance that i could get better. in the state of mind i was in, basically not dealing well with the amount of pain i was in, i was really open to anything that had a chance of succeeding. now, my only recourse is, of course, more surgery. once you open the body up it is never the same again. if the doctor could give me better odds on the success rate, i might bite, but he is only projecting a 25% chance that i could come out of it better than i am right now. not very good odds.
think long and hard about this. talk it over with the mrs. talk it over with your parents. get as much input, opinion-wise, that you can. don't go for the emotional, knee-jerk reaction. get hard facts. if there really is no end in sight as far as the pain - it's just going to increase as you get older. what's worse is, you could end up in a chair. i only hope the best for you and i know what a heavy decision this is for you to make.
also mention to your lawyer about the "second injury fund" which is state sponsored and it makes the money pool a little larger. i don't know if it makes sense in your situation, but it could make the difference in actually receiving the settlement as opposed to winning the judgment and having to wait for your money.
with technology where it is today, i wouldn't worry about the surgery making things worse. it all depends on how you recuperate and if any further injury happens to your spine while you are convalescing for those 6 months. there will be days when you feel like a million bucks and you will be tempted to overdo it just because you feel good. it comes back like a whip the following day. you only get one shot at the spine - it's not like the kidneys or lungs where we have a backup just in case sh * t gets fuBar.
i wish you the best.