Also sounds like my fifth back operation, where my fusions were all coming undone, five of them, and they installed Harrington Rods across several of the weaker ones, in an attempt to stabilize by back and protect the spinal cord from further trauma. Of course, we didn¹t figure on TM bypassing these mechanical attempts at achieving normalcy of life.
I won¹t try to scare you with the operation and recovery details; you can imagine them alright. What we ³metal persons² all have in common is that now, when we go through airport security, all the alarms go off and we must ³stand over there² to wait for the personal attentions of some other agent. (³Hey, I¹m the target, fella, not the terrorist. I¹m the one they wanna kill, not the one doing the killing.²) I had mine looked at last summer, after 14 years, and they are still ³pristine,² according to the report. Glad I did it. Dalton The Petroleum Institute P.O. Box 2533, Umm al Nar Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Office: +971-02-607-5070/5297 Mobile: +971-50-668-5760-- From: bobby jim <elbobber...@earthlink.net> Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 15:48:07 -0600 To: James Berg <molokai...@gmail.com>, JOAN FINK <mafi...@yahoo.com> Cc: <tmic-list@eskimo.com> Subject: Re: [TMIC] CINDY MCLEROY Resent-From: <tmic-list@eskimo.com> Resent-Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 13:48:23 -0800 Back in 1956 I broke my right arm in three places. Two compound fractures below the elbow and one above. The ortho decided to put a rod up above the elbow. It was made out of platinum and after a year, the doc wanted it back, to 'use on the next victim'.....;>) It was so long ago I remember little but I do recall that every time I rode an electric trolley, I'd get a small shock when I touched the metal hand bars. BobbyJim > > From: James Berg <mailto:molokai...@gmail.com> To: JOAN FINK > <mailto:mafi...@yahoo.com> Cc: tmic-list@eskimo.com > > Sent: Monday, January 03, 2011 15:01 > > Subject: Re: [TMIC] CINDY MCLEROY > > > > NOT FOR THE SQUEEMISH! > > > > For those of you who do not know what Cindy is going through, I had a double > break of the femur in 1987 and was given a choice of a nail (rod) or a cast. > With the rod they can make your leg the exact correct length. With a cast, > probably not which means a limp for life. They drilled a hole through the > bone in the lower leg to install a 1/4" by 5" metal shaft to hook up the > traction ropes to stretch out the leg to the proper length as the tendons and > ligaments pulled tight after the break. After a week, surgery. They > dislocated my hip to insert the rod or nail into the center of the femur > where the bone marrow is. The nail is 18" long and 5/8" diameter, hollow > with a slit down the entire length,( mine is stainless steel) and has to be > preshaped to the curve of the leg. It's called a nail because they pound it > in. Mine didn't fit and they had to make another one so the surgery lasted > 12 hours. With my leg broken in 3 pieces, they put 6 --2 1/2" screws to hold > the pieces in place. Over a few months the screws are removed. After a year > or so they want to remove the nail. I decided to keep mine in rather than > go through the trauma of the removal. > > > > It was over a year after surgery before I was able to walk without crutches > and it was a year later when I got my first infection. Apparently the Nail > can move once the screws are out and after a hiking trip the rubbing caused > an infection. It was very painful but after two weeks of anti-biotics I got > over it. I had two more infections after that but none for about 6 years. I > am happy that I went with the nail rather than a cast as I could walk and run > just fine until the TM onset. > > > > Cindy, I hope they keep you stoned as much as you want because I know the > pain you have been through and understand what is in front of you yet. I > just want our people to understand that it is easy to say "they put in a rod > and they took it out" but it is so much more than that. I feel your pain. > > God Bless You > > Jim > > > On Sun, Jan 2, 2011 at 7:59 PM, JOAN FINK <mafi...@yahoo.com> wrote: > >> >> THINGS ARE LOOKING PRETTY GOOD SO FAR. THE ROD IN HER FEMUR HAD TO BE >> REMOVED AND THE DR. FELT THEY WERE AHEAD OF THE INFECTION. SHE HAS BEEN >> TRANSFERRED TO A REHAB FACILITY NEAR ST. JUDE. IT'S GOING TO TAKE >> TIME....... WILL LET THE LIST KNOW MORE AS IT HAPPENS. >> >> SHE DOES NOT HAVE ACCESS TO HER COMPUTER/E-MAIL. I HAVE READ HER ALL >> MESSAGES SENT TO ME FULL OF YOUR WELL-WISHES AND PRAYERS. FEEL FREE TO >> CONTACT ME AT ANY TIME. >> >> A FELLOW TM'ER SINCE 2000 >> JOAN FINK >> > >
