Me Too

[Peacemaker]

Yom Tov, Co-Sufferers,

*Hebrew: "Good Day"

My story: Between 2000 and 2001, an 18-month period, I sustained (5) nasty neck injuries:

1) Rear-ended in traffic.
2) Rear-ended in traffic a 2nd time.
3) Rear-ended in traffic a 3rd time.
4) Dumped on my head, on the ocean-bottom, in hurricane surf (12 foot waves breaking in 3 feet of water), wherein my head hit the ocean floor so hard that I heard a crack in my neck (cracked a disc).
5) An "X-Brace" on a construction site, not unlike a massive pair of scissors, and made of steel, was dropped on my neck and "scissored" (pinched) my neck on both sides, as if attempting to severe my head.

After accident #5 I was hit with what has been medically-termed "Catastrophic Tinnitus" -- the highest known level. My tinnitus mirrors the piercing screech of microphone feedback--24 hours a day--in both ears--sounding/feeling as if it is centered in the middle of my brain. The pitch is closest to 7500hz.

My tinnitus level ranges between a 7 and a 10. It is at a 10 about 70% of the time.

I have since 2001 spent roughly $50,000 out-of-pocket, wholly aside from medical billings, in the pursuit of healing. I have purchased 100's of products, to no avail.

As many of you can well imagine, the emotions that have plagued me over the past 15 years have been crippling. The only thing that has sustained me is that of my spiritual life. I will not impose my spirituality on anyone herein, at any time. I only mention this to answer the question some of you have already asked yourselves (i.e., "OMG, how have you managed???").

To underscore the previous paragraph; my primary aim in joining this forum is that to swap ideas about healing mediums, and ultimately find one for myself. And, along the way perhaps, encourage the co-sufferers herein, to Press Onward with life, and to carefully guard and marinate the jewel of hope.

Thank you for listening, cyber-friends. I look forward to dialog with many of you as time marches forward.

Pressing Onward

 

[SilverSpiral]

I'd be interested in hearing more about your spiritual life, since it has clearly been extraordinarily beneficial to you. But I also understand and respect your choice to keep it private.

 

[MikeL1972]

Hi Peacemaker,

Welcome to the site.

I marvel at your strength!

I am sure you would rather be penniless than to have tinnitus to the degree you have, but did you get compensated for all of those unfortunate incidents you mentioned?

 

[Peacemaker]

Hello, Spiral. If we have a PM medium herein (private messaging), I'd be happy to discuss the spirituality element a bit more. However I prefer not to share such in open-forum context, as this is a very delicate topic. I'm very new to the forum, and just now getting acquainted with the tools. But, and again, I welcome private dialog on the topic.

Hello, Mike. Absolutely, I'd much rather be penniless, than to suffer what I do, in the brain. No, I did no pursue compensation for any of my accidents. In the case of the (3) rear-endings, each of the motorists were in tears, fearful of what would befall them as the result of being at-fault. In turn, and on the spot, and as I'm strongly wired in the mercy department; I allowed them to drive-off, with no exchange of information. The rear-endings, in each case, involved my tank of a vehicle (a rare safari-style 4x4), with heavy tube steel bumpers. Only scratches on my bumper, but significant damage to the wrongful vehicles. On the construction accident; the owner of the company I worked for fought claims and fought anyone attempting such. I therefore bowed-out and did not pursue. In the case of the ocean floor surfing accident; I would have loved to have sued the ocean, but I love it too much to drag it into court :O)

 

[Lorac]

Welcome @Peacemaker !
I like your writing style and I also like and respect your decision to discuss the delicate topic of spirituality via private messaging.
My tinnitus was not caused by neck injury but I think there are some members on this forum whose T was caused that way. You might be able to locate them by beginning a new thread under that topic. You seem to be a very kind person and I hope you find some help here. Don't walk too close to any guillotines!

 

[Peacemaker]

Hi Lorac,

Thank you for the Welcome

Indeed, a guillotine can ruin one's day

I'll look forward to networking with other neck-injury T-sufferers as time unfolds.

Say, I noticed the musical score within your avatar. I'm a guitarist. Guitar is one of the two primary therapy mediums for me, the other being surfing, which I plan to resume soon, following a very long layoff.

May today grace you with a ray of hope

 

[billie48]

Welcome @Peacemaker . I also like to compliment your strength in handling so many accidents on your neck. What a bad luck! Have you gotten any treatment such as chiropractic help for that? You are two forgiving a person to let those drivers who rear-ended you go free. That tells the stamina of your character and your faith. I salute you. Do browse around the TT site for resources that may help you and you are most welcome to help out others still suffering big time.

 

[Peacemaker]

Hi Billie,

Thank you for the warm welcome

I have in fact sought a good deal of chiropractic help following the 5 neck injuries, to no avail to date. That, in addition to myriad other therapeutic mediums (too many to list) over a 15-year period.

However, I've yet to give up Hope (along with Faith and Love)--a winning triad, no?

I agree with you, that perhaps I was too forgiving in the instance of 3 rear-ending's in traffic. One would think that I would have at least engaged one of them, for the purposes of medical treatment. However, in each instance I was in a very heavy off-road 4x4 "tank" of a vehicle, a "Generation I" Mitsubishi Montero, which was lifted, had aggressive off-road tires, and very heavy tube steel bumpers. It was a surf-mobile, modified to drive right into hurricane "soup" on the beaches of the Outer Banks of North and South Carolina, so that one could suit-up (wet suit), grab one's surfboard off the rack on top of the vehicle, and paddle-out into the line-up--directly from the truck. And that I did, many times over. Anyhow, the truck mirrored the British-styled Range Rovers often seen on the plains of Africa in the 60s and 70s.

In each case when I was rear-ended, the "bump" seemed of little consequence; it never dawned on me that each "bump" was causing damage to the neck. It was a very deceiving transaction. Equally in each case, those who hit me were terrified of the legal repercussions, one of whom was a 79 year old woman who was terrified that she'd lose her license. I have long erred on the side of mercy, by choice. And in this case, certainly erred. But, in the end, there is no known cure Mr. T, so I'm not fully certain how any medical treatment would have helped, considering that I later went on to submit myself to the "medical machine" (industry), over several years, spawning 100s of revenue billing's for an army of ENT's around the country (which equated to their BMW payments--the Bavarian Motor Company should send me a personal "Thank You").



If there were the equivalent of a Super Bowl hat and ring for those who've suffered the worst of Mr. T, I do believe I would accept one to read, "Bull Goose Looney." In doing so however, I would never lose sight of the fact that I'm nothing more than a co-sufferer with the rest of you, treading the trenches of both pain and hope, as we swath our way through what can be a horrid jungle of despair at times.

Your co-sufferer,

Pressing Onward