Hi there,

I'm a new member and came across this site whilst searching out information on my problem.

First of all a little history I guess...

I had an accident 2 and half years ago, where I fractured my spine, and was taken to hospital, when they did the MRI scan to assess the damage I was told I had an unstable burst T12, and also congenital scolliosis which was probably the reason why I fractured my spine in the first place.

They advised that they needed to perform surgery to stabilise the fracture because there was a high risk of paralysis if the fracture was left alone.

They performed a fusion reduction of the fracture, spanning T10 - L3, and I was sent home about a week later.

Initially recovery seemed to be going well, I was having regular pool therapy, and things seemed OK, there was a lot of pain, but I assumed this was due to the recovery period.

3-4 months later, the pain hadn't eased, and I started worrying, even the physio was becoming difficult.

I went back to the conusltant 6 months later for a follow up scan to assess the recovery, and was told that everything looked to be fine, even though I was still in a lot of pain and had severe mobility problems by this point.

They arranged for me to continue with physio and to go back in another 6 months time.

Well the physio became so difficult and painful that the therapist decided to stop my treatment.... I went back for the 2nd appointment and was told that the hardware had become displaced, and that it would need to be removed, I had to wait 6 months for a slot before they could operate, and things only got worst during this time.

I have been seen on several occassions now, and had 3 x-rays, 2 MRI scans, and am currently waiting for a bone scan, finally I was told by my orthopaedic consultant that the scoliosis, has complicated the recovery of the fracture and was responsible for the hardware becomiing displaced, he went on to explain that the scoliosis was pushing my upper back forwards, and that it was called scheuermanns that I had, had this condition for years and that my body hasd adjusted to compensate for the curvature, by increased lumbar lordosis, however the fusion reduction to stabilise the fracture had to span the lumbar vertebrae, so I couldn't compensate for the curvature anymore.

I've been left virtually housebound, and have just recently been told that I have a degenerative condition as well, and that there is no surgical option available, that all they can offer is pain management, and counselling for the depression that the pain is causing.

I am 32 years old now, and have learned that the severity of the curvature has cuased significant height reduction, and that due to the compression of my internal organs that premature organ failure is likely to occur at some point in the future, though they couldn;t be specific about a timeframe, so it kind of feels at the moment that I'm just stuck in the house, waiting to die, unable to do what I want to do, and with no options.

I guess I'm wondering at this point if there is anyone else who has had a similar scenario, and whether or not they have had any success with any treatments.

Many thanks
Karen