zqglass
Well-known member
A little back story here. One of my best friends who I have known since elementary school was paralyzed from the stomach down about a year and a half ago. He was returning from a concert in Greensboro, had consumed alcohol, and smoked a bit of weed, but that was normal for him. He passed out on Union Cross road in his supercharged mini cooper s and his foot apparently laid on the gas peddle. He went off the side of the road into a field going an estimated 90 but it could have possibly been well over 100. His girlfriend was asleep when the accident occurred and escaped with only a few scrapes and a bone bruise on her femur. The car had rolled 6 times when it finally came to rest and my friend was on the edge of death. Two factory workers just getting off of work nearby heard the accident and sought out the source of the noise. When they found the wreckage, the car had caught fire and it had begun to spread rapidly. They managed to save my friend and his girlfriend from the flames and called for EMT.
After being put into an induced coma, doctors said he had a very small chance of surviving his injuries. He had brain swelling, a broken jaw, 4 broken ribs, a punctured lung, and had broken his back in 3 places, severing his spinal chord. Two weeks later the doctors decided to pull him out of the coma and hope for the best. He was responsive a couple days later, hand movements and open eyes. A couple weeks later he was attempting to speak and moving his arms fairly well. After a couple more weeks he was coherent most of the time with his occasional mental confusion due to memory loss and the gap in time from the accident to his present date.
Once his memory came back he was able to remember someone selling him an "adderal" at the concert. He had a weakness for "uppers" his whole life and had apparently caved once confronted with the opportunity. We think that whatever that pill was, it wasnt adderal and it was the cause of the accident.
Jumping ahead to present day he is single, and living in government housing on Brookestown Ave. just past Burke St.(he lost his job after the accident and wasn't under any health plan with his employer). He is doing remarkably well with his rehab, and his mental health is incredible considering the circumstances. His biggest problem since day one has been his pain. Ever since he left the hospital his pain levels have only gotten worse, he has been prescribed all of the usual suspects (percocet, vicodin, darvocet etc.) and none have been able to quell his intense back and rib pain. Most recently he was prescribed a highly touted non-narcotic that came in a very large milligram dosage. This helped for a month or so but he felt the pain come back gradually until it was just as bad as it had ever been.
Now, because he had marijuana in his body when the accident occurred his physicians have hesitated to prescribe him the "hardcore" pain meds (oxycontin, roxycodone etc.). There is really no way to tell if any of these more "intense" meds will help with his pain level, but they are refusing him he option of even trying them out. Today, he was scheduled for a drug screen to make sure he was "clean" (no marijuana), and if he passed he would be receiving the "harder" pain meds. Upon arrival he was told that there would be no screening, he would not be receiving any new medication, and that those meds were not an option for him.
I was hoping that out of those of you who have read this far (which im sure is only a handful), someone would be able to help with this issue. Whether it be a physician who would take another approach towards his pain and/or his meds, or maybe someone who has dealt with a similar situation and just had some good advice in general. Not looking for any handouts just desperate for some kind of way to help my man with his pain.
After being put into an induced coma, doctors said he had a very small chance of surviving his injuries. He had brain swelling, a broken jaw, 4 broken ribs, a punctured lung, and had broken his back in 3 places, severing his spinal chord. Two weeks later the doctors decided to pull him out of the coma and hope for the best. He was responsive a couple days later, hand movements and open eyes. A couple weeks later he was attempting to speak and moving his arms fairly well. After a couple more weeks he was coherent most of the time with his occasional mental confusion due to memory loss and the gap in time from the accident to his present date.
Once his memory came back he was able to remember someone selling him an "adderal" at the concert. He had a weakness for "uppers" his whole life and had apparently caved once confronted with the opportunity. We think that whatever that pill was, it wasnt adderal and it was the cause of the accident.
Jumping ahead to present day he is single, and living in government housing on Brookestown Ave. just past Burke St.(he lost his job after the accident and wasn't under any health plan with his employer). He is doing remarkably well with his rehab, and his mental health is incredible considering the circumstances. His biggest problem since day one has been his pain. Ever since he left the hospital his pain levels have only gotten worse, he has been prescribed all of the usual suspects (percocet, vicodin, darvocet etc.) and none have been able to quell his intense back and rib pain. Most recently he was prescribed a highly touted non-narcotic that came in a very large milligram dosage. This helped for a month or so but he felt the pain come back gradually until it was just as bad as it had ever been.
Now, because he had marijuana in his body when the accident occurred his physicians have hesitated to prescribe him the "hardcore" pain meds (oxycontin, roxycodone etc.). There is really no way to tell if any of these more "intense" meds will help with his pain level, but they are refusing him he option of even trying them out. Today, he was scheduled for a drug screen to make sure he was "clean" (no marijuana), and if he passed he would be receiving the "harder" pain meds. Upon arrival he was told that there would be no screening, he would not be receiving any new medication, and that those meds were not an option for him.
I was hoping that out of those of you who have read this far (which im sure is only a handful), someone would be able to help with this issue. Whether it be a physician who would take another approach towards his pain and/or his meds, or maybe someone who has dealt with a similar situation and just had some good advice in general. Not looking for any handouts just desperate for some kind of way to help my man with his pain.
opcorn: