My accident happened back in 1994, the "how" is too complicated and lengthy to write just now. Suffice to say, over 700 pounds came rolling across my left foot and then through another's actions by jumping 5 times, my left foot, from ankle to toes, were crushed. The company I worked for was short handed therefor, no one was available to drive me to ER. I then hobbled as best I could from the back of a large retail store to the front parking lot only to find another problem. My car was a standard! To this day I have no idea how I managed to drive my car to the ER and then home afterwards.

While in ER the best that they would do for me was to take X-rays. I knew the foot was atleast broken but when the X-ray Technician scampered out of the room and the ER Doctor came back in, I knew there was more wrong than I had thought. Dr wrapped my left foot up to mid thigh in a soft cast, gave me crutches and some rather strong pain killers, an antibiotic with an appointment to see an Ortho-Surgeon in 3 days' time.

I went to see that Ortho on the 3rd day. When he walked into the room, he had X-rays in hand but would not let me see them. He proceeded to write more scripts for pain and another antibiotic then he said he would call me when a surgery date had been arranged through WC. I asked him "surgery for what?" He replied that I needed an amputation! Just like that and just as callous. I did what any other normal person would have done, I said thank you, took the scripts and hot footed it out of there just as fast as those crutches would take me!

I called my now "ex" husband who still works for this very same hospital today. I asked him to find me the best Ortho they had there and in less than 5 minutes, I knew who this Dr was. I called and made an appt then I called my employer to update them. This is the beginning of a nightmare that has yet to cease for me. I saw this Dr and surprisingly enough, he agreed that amputating the leg was probably for the best but he was more than willing to try and save it, even though he was already guessing I had "severe RSD" at this point. This was the first I had ever heard of RSD.

Just a little notation here; never once to this point or present day have I ever received a card, phone call or flowers from my employer.

I did all my PT by myself. I underwent Outpatient Surgery with the Bier Block by myself. I had no husband or family support. Friends were already long gone because "life goes on" even when life stops for you when RSD enters.

To make a very long and complicated story short, we placed my leg and foot into a hard cast hoping that we could atleast fuse and lock the ankle into a 45 degree position. Then we embarked on a series of PT and other treatment plans. Ten months later when the foot came out of the cast, it ever so slowly flopped back down and remained limp; hence the "floppy foot syndrome."

So PT began in earnest yet again with a Praefo Brace, a TENS unit and Bier Blocks only my Bier Block put me into Respiatory Arrest and that was after 3 inflatable tournequets to stop the Lidocaine from getting to my heart! Took them nearly 9 hours to stabilize me and my heart was damaged due to the Lidocaine used. During this period from 1994 until October 1996, my marriage fell apart. We resided in the same house but lived and slept separately.

That October 1996 was when gangrene made it's presence known. After a series of WC Doctors and three phone calls from them canceling the surgical date.... one call came from WC at 8:00 pm canceling the amputation.

Another call came at 2:00 am canceling. The third call to cancel came at 4:45 am and I was to be in hospital at 6:00 that morning. There is no describing my emotional or mental state between the loss of my husband, family, friends, career and now this game playing over my life with an amputation.

I discovered, much to my amazement, that when a Dr hollers out "I'm GOD, I can save this leg!" WC will drop your surgical date and force you to see this Doctor. Funny, he was just after the money because even he said: "Yep, that legs gotta go!" So that January 1997, my left leg was finally amputated and the first week of February, my Divorce papers
arrived.

I went from hospital to my Mother's apartment and had my then 13 year old daughter with me. That very night, my Mother took the red-eye to Canada. Now I'm left with no car, no family, no friends and 80 odd staples in my leg. WC denied me Taxi service to go to the market. I was only allowed Taxi's to and from the hospital and PT, that's it.

WC has denied me a Psychiatrist, they've denied me Pain Management, they denied me a conversion to make my then car driveable ie: a hydraulic clutch and they even denied taking my car in trade for an automatic. They have a well worn and trite statement they use all to often and that is: "It's not medically necessary...... at this time."

Then two additional problems came up. The first is that WC doesn't have to tell you where your next check comes from because they are cutting you off! To make another long story short, my local Congressman came to my aid and discovered I was going to SSD without any hassle. I know many of you have had the hard fight for SSD but I didn't and this is often times, a little embarrassing!

The 2nd problem was the apartment complex. They were more than willing to make things a little more "accessible" for me but it would mean raising the rent from $350 for a one bedroom apt. to $425. All, I was going to see from SSD was a grand total of $642 - no way I could afford this! So I had 5 weeks to find a new place that I could afford to live with my daughter. I found that place way out in the country. 3 acres and a shell house that I was supposed to build, bring electicity and water to make it liveable. I managed but it cost me more of my left leg.

That November 1997, my left leg was gutted because gangrene was still in the leg and the RSD complicated the heck out of it again. My new Dr only heard me say one thing "try to save the knee." He managed but he had to gut all the interior to do it. I then resumed additional PT with packing my knee full of 8 yards of gauze that was double folded for the next 14 weeks. RSD does not promote healing and this was a tough 18 months learning lesson.

Money was tight and I "made too much from SSD" for any other services, including Food Stamps! My daughter was always saying she was hungry and I never want to hear this said in my presence ever again. Not even a simple "what's for dinner?" So, I began planting seeds in recycled containers and that's defintely another story lol. I froze up here without any source of heat and no electricity for the next three winters. I bought bottled water and took sponge baths. I was defintely "off-grid" for living.

Last year, 2003, WC decided to deny my pain medications and force me to undergo an unsupervised Detox. When I could function enough to see and put a coherrent thought together, I wrote letters decrying "Possible Criminal Negligence and Activity" to every ellected official we have here in Texas. The only one who came to my aid was a Senator and this man will have my vote again. Even my State Attorney said in essence "not my job." This was how I came to find out I had "Lifetime Medical" and that was from the State WC office and my Senator.

Where am I now? Well, I lost my daughter in 1998 because she "tilted" and couldn't handle the RSD, my pain, never knowing if I was coming back out of the hospital or not; nor could she handle the isolation here. We rarely speak even by phone and I'm lucky to see her for Christmas. I have no neighbors so no one can hear my screams when in pain. Even today, my phone may ring once a or twice a week and they're usually a wrong number.

I am a rare RSD case. I have RSD Stage 4, Systemic with an Auto-Immune problem and have since "acquired" Dysautonomia. Unfortunately, RSD remains on a full scale frontal assault and my war is just beginning in earnest now. RSD is attacking my blood vessels to where they are breaking and clots are a very real threat to me now. I am also about to lose my right leg and all in the name of RSD! I feel as though I am a drawing and someone has a pencil erasing one limb after another.

I would like to ask any medical person just where all this research is because I sent that leg of mine for research so that no one would get to this point that I have reached with RSD. To date, I have seen no such reports on the amputated limbs of now 28 persons that I am aware of. I am well documented and will gladly offer my medical history to anyone's Doctor if they find they are in similar circumstances as myself.

There is just too much information regarding my RSD history that I just can't tell it all. I know this is long already and I thank you, each of you, for reading it.

If you want to know what happened after this period of time, just ask.

Elizabeth