Pilot charity quest. and update

[Guest guest]

Hello all.

I've been out of touch for a while. Very busy. Does anyone have the

phone #'s of the charity pilots? I need the one for AngelFlight and also the

other one because I may be going more than 3000 miles. Please e-mail me ASAP

at jcoonr@.... I just got an appointment with Dr. Frim for October 7th,

and I really can't pay much. To get a flight for less than $450, I would

have to fly from Orlando, which is a 2hr drive away and I'd have to drive

myself. I would definitely prefer not to do that. For those not interested

in the update, stop now.

I'm going to be quick on this one b/c I still don't really know anything.

I saw Dr. Batzdorf in August. He said that I have a continuous CSF leak and

that I also have local pain from dural stretching b/c bone was taken out all

the way up to the tentorium, and the only thing supporting my entire

cerebellum now is my dura and the muscles over it. He also suspects I may be

reacting to the synthetic material used for my graft. He feels that I would

" benefit from a second surgery " . In this surgery, he would fix the leak,

most likely replace the graft with my own tissue, shrink the tonsils, and

build a small " shelf " of methylmethacrylate (sp?) to support my cerebellum.

Upon returning from my appointment, I was faced with the reality that due

to continued severe pain and physical restrictions, and also the likelihood

of a second surgery, I could not return to vet school yet. They have granted

me another year off, but say that if I cannot return next year, I would have

to repeat my freshman year. That's another year and another $20,000 of

student loans, on top of all the money I owe my parents for their financial

support this last year, as public assistance doesn't seem to care until

you've starved for AT LEAST 2 years. (Not EVEN going to go THERE today!!!).

So, I have until August to get better. I am doing all I can to make sure

that there will not be a third surgery. Dr. Milhorat has all of my

information and films, and I am supposed to hear from him this week. I am

going to see Dr. Frim next week. I want to have at least 2 of the top

opinions before going through this again!!! I sent my info to docs as soon

as I returned from LA, but you know how busy they all are.

In order to keep this short, (and so I can go have a drink or

something....VERY stressful day!!!), I'm going to sign off for the night now.

I'll be back as soon as I drag myself out of bed to " fight " another day

tomorrow. And don't worry, I'm not as pessimistic as I sound. I'm just

getting very tired of all of this and I know that if anyone could know how I

feel, it's you all. Thanks again for everyone's support, and a special

" hello " to all those wonderful ACMer friends I met in Miami - I miss you all.

Jeni in FL

ACM 1, herniated, " oh, about 3cm or so "

decompression 12/9/98