Hope and Empathy Eric Stuckenschneider I have Adhesive Arachnoiditis, Degenerative Disc Disease, and Failed Back Surgery Syndrome. I knew I had degenerative discs disease for a while, since my early teen years, and it would cause intermittent pain as I grew. Disc degeneration had been occurring for several years and one night after a normal day I went to sleep on my bed with no issues. When I awoke and attempted to step out of bed I felt a pain that I had never experienced before. At the time I had no insurance, so I let the pain go on for about a week before realizing that I needed to go to the ER. I don't remember much aside from getting in quickly and getting an MRI. They gave me some IV pain medication and at that point I can remember a bit more about the conversation. I ruptured l4-l5 and that required surgery ASAP. I was in the OR by 6AM the next morning. I had the surgery and followed all procedures and suggestions made to me by the medical staff with a follow up set for one month out to see the neuro-surgeon that performed the operation. I was feeling great at this time so the follow up went well and quickly. I was given further advice about the healing process and then discharged from his care. Fast forward 6 months from that follow up—I was with my girlfriend at her place of business and was moving a chair to sit in and it got caught on something in the rug. I felt three pops in my spine and hit the floor in pain. Pain is a 10 when you have a rupture—I lost consciousness and all concept of anything. After the second surgery for the L4-L5-S1 ruptures the pain did not go away as it did with the previous surgery, in fact I was in more pain. During my follow up with the same doctor I let him know something was wrong, but in his opinion I was seeking pain medication so he told me the pain was normal and that if I had any more issues to follow up with my primary care doctor. I was still in agonizing pain 24/7 to where I couldn't walk. I went back to the hospital to have them find the issue. After 6 days in a hospital the head neurologist found why I was still in such extreme pain. I was diagnosed with Arachnoiditis. This was caused by inflammation in my arachnoid membrane pushing my spinal cords together. I was prescribed heavy pain medications to use around my friends, family, and at work just so that I could walk and sit without agonizing pain. I would still go to work and socialize without issue due to several different meds. The meds were Fentanyl, OxyContin, Oxycodone, and Dilaudid. I went to the [End Page E3] pain management doctor to control the meds and see what options I had after some time had passed. For people in similar conditions to mine where neuropathy damage has occurred, the first recommendation after medication is a Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS). The device is essentially a couple of probes that are inserted directly into the spinal column and are controlled by a box that you carry with you. If your pain is in a different area or location you have the ability to move where the stimulation occurs. I did a trial of the SCS and found that it did nothing for my pain while at the same time making me uncomfortable. When the trial was over and the probes were to be removed, I explained what I had experienced to the pain management doctor and told him that it wasn't going to work for my issue. He decided to move and rearrange the probes while I was awake and then after getting upset with him and asking him just to remove it he yanked them out of my spine and the feeling that came along with it will never leave my memory. On the other hand I have spoken with people that have gotten...