Erica Alikchihoo

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Okay, here’s an update on Erica.  As many of you know, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has denied all appeals for me to have the minimally invasive back surgery called the X-Stop, which would have been an outpatient procedure, performed under local anesthesia, and with little or no post-op rehab needed.   I saw my neurosurgeon today to find out my other options.  It’s not good.  I am not a candidate for the Aspen Fusion (which would have been similar to the X-Stop), because of the instability of my spine.  And my spine is at the point where the Stenosis is considered SEVERE.  If I don’t want permanent nerve damage (and there may already be some), my only other option is to have a laminectomy and fusion, where they will remove bone from the back part of my spine, push the spinal cord out of the way and enlarge the passageways for the nerves going down into my legs, then they will take metal hardware and screws and position them on my spine and screw them in.  I guess they glue or somehow attach some of the bone they removed to some parts of the spine so that it will fuse later on.  Right now, they are only planning on fusing one level, but I’ll need to double check with them next week at my pre-op appointment, because she was concerned about a tipped vertebrae at our last meeting, but it is not visible on the MRI (only on the X-ray) and she did not mention it today when looking at the MRI.   They want to do it right away.  So, the surgery is scheduled for April 26^th  at 7:30 a.m. at Rose Hospital, and will take a minimum of 5 hours.  I will be in the hospital for at least 3 days.  I will be fitted for a hard plastic brace prior to surgery, along with something called a bone stimulator.  It is a good thing I lost all that weight.  I will not even be allowed to BEGIN physical therapy for 3 months.   I am trying to look at this in a positive light, but it’s hard, because I am so ANGRY that I could scream.  I feel that I am being forced to have a massively invasive, massively expensive surgical procedure that I don’t want and don’t need, and which will force me to take a distribution from my 401K to help pay for….when a much less expensive and invasive procedure would have accomplished the same result (releasing pressure on my spine and the nerves leading to my legs).  I have done everything I can think of to do, contacted everyone I can think of to contact, and now am sitting here trying not to cry with frustration.  The only thing I can compare how I’m feeling to is being dragged kicking and screaming into a dark alley, where I will face the virtual “rape” of my body, which I will then be expected to pay for.   I’m sorry….I know this sounds awfully self-pitying, and maybe it is.  But that’s just how I’m feeling, and I can’t change it.  If you have a connection to the Divine, you might include a little request that I find a way to gracefully accept what I cannot change, and which hopefully, will relieve my pain.   Blessings to you, Erica