The Disability Worker's Comp Trap!

My name is Carol Kelly. I was a Certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist and was injured on November 2, 1993 stopping a patient from falling. I herniated a disc and two surgeons committed malpractice and really messed me up. I lost my career, two marriages, my financial security, and I am still fighting my case 13+ years later. I have been found 100% disabled but the judge's don't enforce their rulings. The Insurance Carrier for the hospital, the hospital, and the attorney for the hospital are getting richer to my detriment. The Worker's Comp Commission doesn't want to deal with my case or to enforce their rulings. Their brochure states that they make sure you get paid, proper medical treatment, and are there to resolve the case. The Commission avoids my case like the plague, I am not being paid the proper amount, they have not made the Insurance Carrier pay for my treatment, medical equipment I need, given me any raises in my salary, are aloud to be 14 days late paying me without being penalyzed yet my bill collector's don't allow me 14 days to be late. When I was working my employer couldn't be 14 days late paying me. As Kevin Trudeau says, "It's all about the money!!!" The previous Chief Judge at the Washington, D.C. Worker's Compensation Commission tried to force me in to mediation when he didn't even make the Insurance Carrier pay previous bills that were ordered to be paid. But, the previous Chief Judge offended a co-worker who happened to be a Senator's or Congressman's daughter and was fired. He attacked my character and integrity because I wouldn't agree to the mediation unless he made the Insurance Carrier pay the previous bills. They have stolen my dignity, my son and I ended up homeless, my credit was ruined, and they spent approximately $5,000 to hire an outside company do what they call a Utilization Review. A doctor that has the same qualifications as my treating physician is supposed to do the review. They go over my medical records and decide if the treatment I chose and the things my treating physician prescribes is medically necessary. The last one they did a nurse completed it and it stated basically that I should be on all the drugs that my previous pain management doctor had me on, instead of having the implanted pain stimulator. She stated that I should be on all the drugs but be entered into a drug rehabilitation center. She had me on so many drugs that I was bedridden, went down to 80 lbs. and was wasting away in my bed. I had a son that was in 8th grade to raise. I threw the drugs in the trash and went to a doctor who implants the pain stimulator. He is officially a Pain Management Physician. She was a Physiatrist. Yet she continues to say I should be on the drugs. She refers patients to my Pain Management Physician all the time. "It's all about the money!" Yet in the long run, the Pain Stimulator is cheaper. I could go on and on. We need to treat the elderly and disabled in this country better!!! I would like to turn my mess into my message. I have been homebound the last 3 years. I had two infections in my bloodstream from mold where I lived. I lost two of my pain stimulators due to the infections. My immune system was shot for a while until I bought K.C. Craichy's Living Fuel, meal replacement/pure vitamins. A lot of athletes use this to help them get stronger and stay healthy. This stuff has gotten peole off of cholesterol medication, high blood pressure medication, insulin, and other medications, made them stronger, and lose a lot of weight. It has helped me tremendously. The snack bars are awesome. I have 14 years of information to get into a letter to the Mayor of Washington, D.C. I need to get stronger so I can expose these people. I am not just doing it for myself, but to help others so they never have to go through what I have had to go through and still am suffering. I can't afford to even get a haircut. My clothes don't fit because of the weight I gained. I have been living in my pajama's. I need dental work badly, my eyes examined, a proper bed to sleep in, and to keep up the exercise and to eat the proper way. The pain is hardly there now that I have been working out six days a week but I am working out twice a day and I can't get much else done right now. I am in so much pain from head to toe from the exercising because my muscles were so atrophied. I bought a lot of exercise tapes and CD's on my own and certain equipment. The stronger my abs and core get the less pain I have in my back and legs. The weight loss helps. One surgeon fractured my Sacro-Iliac Joint and crushed a Nerve Root in my right leg. The other surgeon was supposed to fix that and he didn't fix it, but he added to the problem by putting a piece of metal in my back that was for another patient who was a 6'2", 250 lb man. He also cut my gluteus maximus muscle (the biggest buttock muscle) away from the hip bone and it was hanging down in my upper leg. My new treating physician fixed the spine but wanted me to go to Denver to get the S-I Joint fixed. The Worker's Comp Insurance Carrier wouldn't let me go to Denver. So I went to John's Hopkin's and the surgeon there messed me up worse. I ended up flying to Denver and getting it fixed after that with the help of my mother, my lawyer and I was much better. The Insurance Carrier's all use certain doctor's to say that you don't need the treatment you do need. I have falls all the time because of the crushed nerve root and my leg just gives out. I have fallen down steps and broke my foot, damaged my elbow, etc... I have one and possibly another herniated disc but I refuse to have any more surgery. I need a bed with no springs in it or I wake up every hour to hour and a half. I can only sleep on my left side. Now my left shoulder and rotator cuff is damaged from only being able to sleep on my left side, the use of the cane to stop the falls and my right leg won't step out as far as my left leg, and the falls. It is very painful. I am icing it down and trying to strengthen all the muscles and hopefully it won't be so painful. So I now sleep in my recliner chair.

I have done so much better with less medicine and exercise. I am a big fan of natural cures and I try to stay as far away from medicine as possible. I went to college when I was 27 and my son was a toddler. I just love math and science and I went into the medical field to help people. I found out that hospitals are just big corporate people too. "It's all about the money!" I would go in at 2:00 am to do a test on a patient that was an emergency and I would have to do their billing paperwork while I was there. These are emergency patients that needed tests immediately due to trauma's, etc... The secretary could of done the billing paperwork in the morning.

I am posting this blog to talk with other people who are disabled. If they are injured on the job and having a rough time I might be able to help people to get help elsewhere in their community or to just listen. I have learned a lot in the last 13+ years and I would like to help others. It would help me feel like I am being useful to someone. I am not one to stay still even when I was doing my best back in 2004. I would at least cook a few times a week, get out to visit a friend or go to church. I have been so ill an stuck completely in the house for 3 years. It has been terrible. I have no social life. I know I am disabled and can't do everything I used to and I barely sleep right now. I know that I will never be able to work again unless a miracle happens. But being treated worse than a prisoner in jail just burns me up. What has happened to this country that we treat our own elderly and disabled this way? Where have our moral values gone? I am not one that wants one second of pity!!! I am not a whiner. But, when the government doesn't do the right thing and you are so sick and in so much pain it is awful. You can barely take care of yourself and then you don't get the proper treatment and you have no say in your life. You have to pray your check comes in the mail. I am done sitting back and taking this while the Judge's aren't even making decisions on the medicals anymore. They send them out for Utilization Review's and then they can sit back and wait to retire and collect their pensions. Then they treat you like you are a second class citizen and act like you don't deserve help. They have doctor's that are hired guns to say you don't need the treatment your physician suggests. My treating physician agrees with me regarding no more surgery. He believes that I have a say in my recovery. I just want to be as pain free as possible and to have some stability and order in my life. I want this case to end so I may have my life back. But, I will not relent. It may take me a while to do what is necessary especially because I have no help. But no matter how long it takes I can't give in to them. I have my dignity back and they will never steal it from me again. They have no compassion for anyone and all they care about is not paying you money or getting you the care or things you need.

If anyone needs help or wants to talk I am here. I pray no one has gone through what I have but I would like to help other's or just listen and console.