Neurology at UPMC St. Margaret

"They have a reputation that you can TRUST YOUR LIFE FOR❤❤❤"

"I began 2016 experiencing excruciating back pain that was not relieved by bolus uses of my morphine pump. Went to the family doctor and her associate diagnosed a UTI. I continued to experience the severe back pain, fevers and chills. I couldn't eat anything because I would just lose it later. I went to the local ER about five times from January to March seeking resolution to the ongoing health problems, (UTIs & debilitating back pain). I went to my pain management specialist to have my pump refilled in mid-March. I told him what I had been going through, but he was more involved in repositioning the pump in the lower right quadrant of my stomach so that he could access the port. As I lay on the table having my pump refilled,I told him I was experiencing numbness and tingling down my right leg. Again, there was no response to the complaint. He's a busy doctor with a line of other patients to treat. A few days later I was at my family doctor's office for a follow-up appointment. I told her I was experiencing numbness and tingling down my right leg. She suggested I begin physical therapy. I couldn't help asking myself how I was going to get out to physical therapy when my feet felt like blocks. I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to begin a physical therapy program because I was doubting my ability to drive. As it turned out, I was incapable of beginning physical therapy. I became paralyzed 3/22/17. I went back to local ER and they prescribed steroid medication and an anti-inflammatory. They sent me home with instructions to follow-up with my PCP three days later. At that appointment, the nurse practitioner told me to stand up. I barely managed it, using my husband on one side and her on the other. I was so weak and wobbly that I was sent back to the ER. I was admitted to the hospital. I underwent numerous CT scans and an x-ray. I could not have an MRI because I had a morphine pump.Several doctors examined me and seemed to be at a loss without the advantage of an MRI. Exasperated with the doctors' inability to diagnose what was causing the back pain and paralysis, I asked to be discharged. My family doctor provided the name of a neurologist in DuBois. He could not see me until mid April. The doctor then referred me to Dr. Rice. This doctor performed a thorough examination, going so far as to actually look at my back. She noted a bump on or near my spine. She listened to me as I described the stinging sensation I experienced in my feet and lower legs. I explained that diagnostics were hampered by the morphine pump that had been implanted in July 2014. After a short discussion I found myself in the hospital's ER waiting for transport to UPMC Shady Side where the implant procedure had taken place. I was worried about going to the other hospital by helicopter. The worry was financial in nature. I later learned the importance of taking that flight. On April 7, 2016, Dr. Bejjani removed a bacterial infection from one of my thoracic vertebrae and the morphine pump. Apparently my body didn't react well to having a foreign instrument in it. The morphine pump would have simply turned off had I received an MRI earlier. I was simply going on the information my pain management doctor had given me after having it placed. In fairness, my PCP attempted to reach out to my pain management doctor for information regarding the pump. His office repeatedly failed to return her calls. I am deeply grateful for the treatment provided by Dr. Rice. We're it not for her expertise, I am afraid the infection would have spread and I would still be in a wheelchair. Today I am able to walk and perform small household duties."