Friday, March 7, 2008

A ten-year pain resolved in 2 weeks

It was by a lucky chance that Mme Dominique Forget was delegated to cover the press conference with Health Services International in Montreal in June of 2007. She interviewed several people who had returned from Cuba healed and relieved.
For several years She had considered going to Cuba to seek treatment for her chronic back pain.
For over ten years she had to take extended absences from work when the pain was too intense. She was not able to lie down or to sit for extended periods, which lead to a chronic sleep deficit. For her it was ten difficult years as no specialist here could find the medical solution.

For her, this press conference was the spark…she decided to try the renowned orthopaedic specialists in Cuba.

Only a few hours after arriving in Cuba, the doctors diagnosed a fracture in the sacrum. As this situation had been long untreated, there was noticeable wear on the fractured parts. The doctors proceeded with a bone graft to heal the fracture. Two weeks later, she was on her way home, relieved of her pain and hopeful.
Her life now has changed. She no longer needs to take the large quantities of pain-killers, with all the unpleasant side-effects.

“My only solution was to pay to get answers to my questions, so that finally I could be taken seriously and not have them doubt the fact that I was in pain. I am not saying that all the doctors here doubted my pain. They sent me to the pain clinic where they gave me some heavy medication that allowed me to endure the pain and to be able to sleep for a few weeks. I was left with the worry, discouragement and despair. This was to be a necessary part of my life.”

“The difference with the Cubans is in the team work approach. Several doctors met to discuss my case before my orthopaedist came to tell me the results. Every day I saw the team of 6 doctors who had participated in my operation and each one of them closely followed my case. Clearly, the quality of Cuban doctors has given them a very good reputation, and I would add that there are also very good doctors here in Canada. I could have gone to a private clinic but I had lost confidence that they would find anything. After 11 years, anyone could be discouraged.”

1 comment:

ray dougan said...

After 25 years and two inappropriate lumbar operations found my problem was two fractures to sacrum and coccyx. How often is a sacral fracture mistaken for a lumbar disc problem?
Now in considerable pain and with neurological deficit in both legs.