Sorry, Lynda, but our experience, in a similar situation, was almost exactly
the opposite. A little over a year ago, on a camping trip with scouts, my son
stepped on a broken glass bottle in the mud along a river bank. The glass
severed two, and nicked the third, of the three major tendons in the bottom
of his foot. Not only did the doctor get all the class, he successfully
re-attached and repaired the tendons. It took several months of PT once it
healed, but he is completely recovered.
It is not, in my opinion, the medical care available in the US that is the
problem. Just like in any field, there are skilled people, and incompetent
boobs. We got a good one, you got a boob. The problem is the freeloading on
the system, the weight placed on it by people who have lived unhealthy
lifestyles,expecting now that consequences are upon them, to be freed of
them, and a sue happy society. All of the medical people I have ever had the
pleasure, or misfortune ;-), to come in contact with are highly skilled and
competent professionals.
Ray
Dr. Raymond Zentz
It is better to die a free man, than to live, a slave.
-----Original Message-----
From: Lynda <lurine AT com-pair.net>
To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Thu, Sep 30, 2010 12:18 pm
Subject: Re: [Homestead] Thunder God Vine and RA
Hmmm, very interesting. We are currrently dealing with a mess compliments of
how great the medical care is in the U.S.
Son #3 had gone to the river and was wearing flip flops when he came home.
The doohickey between the toes broke and tripped him and he stepped on glass.
Went up into the arch of his foot and just skimmed the bone.
Off to the big city (Redding) we go since no one figure the little local ER
(2 beds and a hallway) would be able to handle the situation. Seems the big
city didn't either.
Now, for folks who don't know about x-rays, they don't show glass. The ER doc
ordered x-rays and then sent him home saying there was no glass in his foot.
She also hit something when she numbed his foot.
Long story short is he kept getting told he needed to quit being a whimp,
"people live with buckshot in them all the time." So, I call down to the
coast where I know the doctors (city 1/3 the size of Redding) and got him in
and they removed several pieces of glass.
He now has Complex Region Pain Syndrome for which, it seems, there is no
cure.
Would y'all like to know what medications they recommend for this stuff?
Elavil (anti-depressant), and two other anti-depressants. Seems one
unintended "benefits" of rearranging neurons in the brain in someone who *is*
depressed *might* help the misfiring nerves that cause CRPS. Or might not. Or
might cause suicidal ideas. Or cortizone creams might help because, and this
makes no sense to me, once a doc causes this problem, it somehow ends up
*sometimes* being an autoimmune issue.
So, he's 26 and he's been on crutches since June. No one can tell him
anything about the prognosis. "Well, sometimes it just goes away with time."
"Well, sometimes it becomes a crippling disability and your leg may atrophy."
Which is why this sounds interesting since they've used it topically.
Lynda
----- Original Message ----- From: "EarthNSky" <erthnsky AT gmail.com>