Hope For My Chronic Pain

/ doubledacres

On February 27 I posted a blog about my chronic pain. About 3 months ago I made the decision to find a new doctor and I was lucky enough to find Dr Paul Moniz in Farmington, MO. He didn’t waste anytime addressing my health issues. He has my piercing edema under control and referred me to a cardiologist to address my heart problem and that has been addressed.

I had asked him to order X-rays of my ankle because I wanted to make sure no stress fractures were present. He took one look at my ankle and immediately ordered a work up of my ankle and X-Rays. When he saw them he referred me to Dr Christopher Sloan, podiatrist, of Farmington.

My appointment was today and I am ecstatic with the news I received. Seems I have bone build up on the right side of my right ankle the size of a ping ball, and smaller bone build up on the left, and my heel has some abnormalities. He said the X-rays of my foot were quite evident of how painful it was for me to walk and that he would like to do an ankle replacement. He informed me that ankle replacements had been available for almost 25 years.

He continued to say I would be pain free and could walk normal. He went over everything with me very thoroughly and I agreed to let him do the procedure on October 27.

Needless to say I walked out of his office on cloud 9. Once I got into the truck and put the key in the ignition I teared up. For 40 years I have not known what it was like to walk without pain and I was looking at the possibility of finally getting that opportunity. I was saddened to think that because I wasn’t proactive and basically given up, that I could be living that dream years ago. I could only imagine how much it would improve my quality of life. Time will tell.

In closing I would like to encourage anyone in the same position as me to not be afraid to change doctors or at least get a second or even third opinion. Don’t give up hope even if you have exhausted every possible avenue. Try again in a couple of years. They are making new medical advancements every day and you never know when they might develop a way to address your problem. Don’t give up like I did. To think it might have cost me 10, 15 or 20 years of enjoying being pain free is a hard pill to swallow but it’s better late than never. Good luck!

14 thoughts on “Hope For My Chronic Pain”

  3. That’s AMAZING news and even though bittersweet your post is so important to tell others NEVER GIVE UP!! ❤️ It’s ironic to think that here you’ve been in physical pain for so many years only to find out you could have had things fixed so you could be pain free, now your heart aches for that lost time. But you are smart, don’t look back look forward! This will end up being a new chapter going forward PAIN free!! Now that’s something to celebrate!! YAY!! ❤️😍

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  5. Glad you are in better health now. Kris and I are both nurses and we have heard a lot of stories similar to yours. All I can say is that patient’s know their health better than we medical professionals are so if you feel like somethings not just right, you have to fight for it, otherwise there is no better person to do that other than yourself. Hope you are feeling much better now! Thanks for following our blog too. 🙂 Cheers for good health! 🙂 Have an amazing day. Regards, Aileen and Kris

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  6. Hey there, from one Wayne to another! Not only do we share the same name, but your backstory is remarkably similar to mine. Albeit I’m a 57 model, but I too used to love to fish and when out doing so, preferred tenting in nature’s wild as well. I loved canoeing and was an avid horseman at one time myself.

    As for music … being so close in age I also prefer Classic Rock, the songs of my era. And as to your preference to bluegrass and Outlaw Country — I had my own touring Country band way back in the early 80’s and you’ll never guess what we were called? — The County Outlaws! Waylon & Willie, Cash and Haggard, you name em we sang them all!

    Now you may of noticed my ‘was’ past tense when listing our similarities. That’s because I too suffer from chronic pain and those things I once loved to do, I unfortunately cannot anymore. But your message of “never give up” and keep changing doctors is Bang on good advice! That’s what finally got me diagnosed after years of seeking different medical opinions. That, and never giving up!

    So if I may be so bold as to add my voice to yours!
    Never give up! — Good advice, from the two Wayne’s!

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    • I just saw your reply. Remarkable similarities. My busted up ankle came from rodeoing. Rode bareback. I wouldn’t ride saddle broncs because I was afraid of getting my foot stuck in stirrup. People who never suffer from chronic pain don’t understand us. They think we are faking to get the drugs. My orthopedic surgeon when he looked at my xrays told me he bet it hurt like hell to walk. I asked him about how long he thought it would take me to get back on my feet. He said apparently I had pretty good pain tolerance so that should help me with the physical therapy. He said I would have to push through the pain of therapy. He said do you think you can do that? I told him a horse kicked me once and bruised my spleen and broke two ribs. I finished showing the horse so I could get paid. Took three days off and went back to shoeing. I am still blown away at our similarities. I am lucky I have Missouri Ozark streams close to me. That’s some of the best therapy I know.

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      • Yep, pain tolerance is the key. But it’s earned not given. Experiencing pain over and over and long lasting the only way to build up tolerance. And rodeo riders know all about living with pain I can imagine. With all your pain experience Wayne, I’m betting post operative therapy for you will be a walk in the park. A walk that is, on a new pain free ankle. Good luck man. Looking forward to more of your nature post adventures.

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