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Thursday, February 27, 2014

After my review of Dr. Deschner, I feel I should review some of the good doctors.

I know that my last post was very negative, and it was all true. It was a very negative 6 months of dealing with VCU Health/ MCV/ and Dr. Deschner. It was a nightmare and I sincerely hope no one else will have to experience what I went through.

Enough negativity, today I would like to praise the doctors who have actually helped me. Those who have done their jobs the best they could and provided me with a positive feeling that they know what they are doing.

First up of course is the one doctor who has been with me for this whole journey after being diagnosed with MS. The only doctor who has not only treated my broken back without drugs but has performed miracles in giving me back a range of motion I never though I would see again. Dr. Ryan McDonnell of Caroline Chiropractic is absolutely the best doctor that I am happy is on my team. I have no doubts that without him I would probably be in a wheelchair. Waiting on my back to heal from the fractures was the worst, though they did call and check on me. There is an open door policy that I love. No matter what day of the week, no matter how many patients he has scheduled they will never turn you away and tell you to come back later. I cannot say enough about Dr. Ryan or Betty who somehow maintains a good attitude even when she spends all day dealing with insurance companies. It is refreshing to have a doctor who genuinely cares for his patients and goes above and beyond to help in any way he can. There is a story that I have to tell people when I refer to my chiro. After the first 4 fractures, my ortho (with Dr. Suthar over at Virginia Interventional Spine in Fredericksburg, VA) absolutely refused to sign off on me going back into chiropractic care. REFUSED. Told me what a horrible idea chiro was and that it would cause more damage. Eventually I ended up leaving this idiot because he believed he knew more about my body than I did. Bumped into this guy about 6 months after I fired him. he called my name in a parking lot and I turned my head to see who it was. He was amazed at the range of motion that had returned to my neck and asked me which doctor I was with. I laughed and told him Dr. Ryan… the chiropractor that you called a quack and refused to sign off on me returning to. And that, ladies and gentlemen is why I will not even begin to look at any chiropractor in this area and why I drive all the way to Ladysmith. He is the best!

 

Sadly, the second doctor that comes to mind who is great at his job and I have never had a problem getting in to see is Dr. Huffman over at Urology Associates of Fredericksburg. Though I never look forward to these appointments for obvious reasons, I am usually out of there in under an hour. Plus the bow-tie and cowboy boots makes me laugh every time and he soooo reminds me of Bill Nye the Science Guy.  The nurses there are great and we have been through some rather invasive tests ; the kind that would make a gynecologist blush. The staff is always nice, I have no problems getting a return call if I leave a message. Unlike most doctors they actually call you with test results instead of scheduling a second appointment to find out. My first meeting with Dr. Huffman was interesting to say the least, he had been held up in an emergency surgery so he was a little rushed coming in. He is reading my chart and is somewhere on page two when he stops and very seriously asks me if I have ever been tested for Multiple Sclerosis. I laughed and referred him to page three where I listed MS. I was impressed that he understood this disease enough to recognize the symptoms and could see right away what the problem was. Unfortunately you really have to leave your modesty at the door for this office, but its not as humiliating as it could be and I do appreciate that.

 

Number three on my list would be Dr. Dahlgren at West End Orthopedics. Very nice guy, and very helpful. Sadly, he was cut from my list of doctors as the ortho issues I was seeing him for were determined to be a deal with it or surgery option. In the end I chose to deal with it. The surgical option was not a viable option as it was something that would also require subsequent surgeries. Dr. Dahlgren was very professional, and knowledgeable . I will say that although Dr. D is awesome I cannot say the same for his colleagues. Dr. Sciaccia wouldn’t operate on my back because I have MS. And Dr. Brown who performed my third foot surgery was inadequate to say the least. I was in the hospital prepped drugged and ready for surgery when the nurse asked if I had any allergies. I then had to wait 4 hours for a non-latex operating room to open up because the doctor didn’t request one though he was told in advanced several times and on every form I had to fill out before surgery date. After 5 hours in surgery I awake and discover Dr. Brown took off before I woke up from anesthesia. I didn’t have a clue how surgery went until he came back the next morning to tell me. This is the surgery that resulted in a big metal plate, and 7 screws holding my foot together. It fell apart in less than 6 months and I was told to walk on it until the screw breaks. the only thing holding this screw in place is my skin. This story leads us to ….

 

Dr. Faccaros with Ortho Specialty Clinic of Fredericksburg. My first visit the only thing he had to go on was my X-ray they performed that day because Dr. Brown’s office refused to send my files over (Even though I went down to Richmond to sign the form because they couldn’t fax it to me). Dr. Faccaros puts me back in the boot and starts me on my way to scheduling surgery. Due to Dr. Brown and Dr. Deschner being incompetent and unprofessional I was forced to cancel surgery last minute. Dr. Faccaros was very nice about it and very understanding. I will end my segment of this guy here as I am still awaiting surgery which will be happening in 2 weeks.

 

Also worth a note, is Advanced Spine and Pain who took over after I fired Dr. Deschner. They were able to work me in quickly, and the doctor I met with was great. She presented me with many more options than the last doctor and we opted for a medication that had worked well in the past. She asked questions and listened to me when I spoke. I am now on a medication that not only works better, but is half the dosage of what I had been on. To boot my new med doesn’t come with any of the side effects I dealt with for the last two years. I am impressed with them so far and hoping we continue without any problems.

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