With all the specialist I've seen I have been poked, prodded and just about killed with all their tests. On January 14th I was scheduled to see a vascular surgeon for yet again another diagnosis. The diagnostic outcome was not surprising in the least. Unfortunately the fact that I have RSD was not all he had to say. I sat and listened to the same explanation of RSD that I've heard so many times before, but as he went on he came to the stage I'm at in my disease. Now please understand I've been in therapy since May 13 1998, and I thought I had done a pretty good job in keeping up mobility and fighting the progression of this disease. So when the doctor came about to tell me I was in severe stage 3 I was in shock. I couldn't believe that all my hard and incredibly painful work had been what seemed to be for nothing. NOTHING! Along with dealing with the pain everyday, now I have to deal with the fact that I will probably have to live with this for the rest of my life! The doctor also enlightened me to the fact that there is even less now that they can do for me than there was when I first started therapy! Let alone what they could have done for me had the blasted doctor not misdiagnosed me in the first place!
BUT that's in the past and I have to let go of it. Although it took me a week to get back out of the depression that the news sent me into. My mind just couldn't accept that I was as good as losing my right arm for the rest of my life. Needless to say my hope faltered, as well as my will to fight this beast. It took a lot of work to get out of the hole I was in. I felt like crying every time I turned around, which for anyone who knows me will attest is about as far from normal as can be. With the help of my family's support I was able to cope and now can continue on the road that this disease has put me. For any of you out there going through these trials keep faith, and hope... For it is all we have to keep us going. If we lose these two things, we lose everything...

God bless and keep you...

Bob.

Please feel free to e-mail me.

 

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