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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
 Posted - 07/13/2011 : 15:11:07
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Ever hear of this?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004456/
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Pain patient left to suffer 5
SCOTT TAYLOR, QMI AGENCY
FIRST POSTED: WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2011
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/07/13/pain-patient-left-to-suffer
OTTAWA - Amanda Polk has been dealing with severe pain for so long that she almost can't remember what it's like to live without it.
As if that wasn't bad enough, the 24-year-old Stittsville resident told QMI Agency that her best chance of relief, if not recovery, has turned its back on her.
She claims the Ottawa Hospital pain management clinic discharged her without telling her why. Or even telling her. She only discovered it after repeatedly calling to make a new appointment.
Polk was 11 when she tore a ligament in her left knee. Six months later, she still couldn't stand on it. Eventually, she underwent arthroscopic surgery to check for cartilage damage. There was none.
She told doctors she was in agony. They told her it was all in her head and referred her to a psychiatrist.
"So, here I was, 13 years old and headed down a really deep and dark path," she said. "It wasn't long before things followed suit. I was losing friends, my grades were slipping, and my faith and hope were fading."
That hope returned a year later when she was finally diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome, a rare disorder that turns minor injuries into severe ones and causes continuous, intense pain that gets worse over time.
Countless procedures over the years have offered short-term relief, but the pain always returned -- often worse than before -- accompanied by disfiguring injuries. At one point, she had bone sticking out of her forearm.
Polk, a registered practical nurse, said she doesn't know why the clinic will no longer see her.
"They never even told me I had been discharged," she said. "They just washed their hands of me."
To control the pain, she's also taking a cocktail of powerful medications that her own family doctor doesn't feel comfortable monitoring.
Dr. Homer Yang, the hospital's head of anesthesia, said he's sorry for the way Polk has been treated, calling it a breakdown in communications.
Reluctant to speak directly about her case, citing privacy issues, he did say the hospital would likely contact her doctor to talk about Polk's medications and then follow up periodically.
"I think that would be possible and reasonable," he said.
As for being discharged, he said it's a sad fact that sometimes the pain can't be cured.
"There is a certain percentage (with whom) we would run into a dead end. It's not that we don't care about them, but we have to sort of say this is as much as we can do."
That said, he will examine how Polk managed to slip through the cracks so that it doesn't happen again.
scott.taylor@sunmedia.ca
Twitter: ottawasuntaylor |
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Complex regional pain syndrome
