Yesterday a patient came in to the clinic to get treated for such severe pain that made it difficult for him to walk, work or sleep. He had seen yet another Des Moines workers comp attorney, who had informed him that the likelihood of him receiving permanent disability was next to nothing to the chagrin of the patient who was a Des Moines workers comp lawyer himself.
He had fallen on a patch of ice on his way to defend a client who had tumbled from a building while fixing electric wires for the DWP. The lawyer was able to crawl to a bench and call an ambulance. In the emergency room the doctors iced the injury, gave him some anti-inflammatory medication and told him to go home. Over the next few months his pain increased, running throughout his spine and into his legs. His perscripton was increased. In order for him to endure a day up and about he needed to take so much medication that he wasn’t able to work. The doctors suggested that he had perhaps impacted the spine in in a manner that the nerves were being compressed. Unfortunately, none of this was clearly showing on the X-rays and MRI’s.
It was suggested by a friend that he go to a chiropractor. The chiropractor began adjusting him every week which allowed him more leg mobility and less numbness, but the pain was still excruciating and at times led to collapse. By the time he began receiving Acupuncture, his right leg had lost all strength. He had stabbing pain shooting through both sides of his spine and legs. He had not worked in over a year and was residing with his mother. He was on every kind of pain medication and would drink a lot of alcohol in order to sleep.
The clinic was able to diminish his pain for short periods of time, and stop the spasms, but they could do nothing to alleviate his fury at a government system that would not assist him unless he was practically bedridden. If he tried to work from home the courts said that he was able to work, therefore he was ineligible for permanent disability under the personal comp system in place. If his pain receded or he began to show signs of improvement, he was frightened that it impact his case before it was settled.
He knew how it all would play out. Though he had worked as an attorney in this field for years, he had not fully realized the frustration clients were experiencing. He had not understood how difficult it was to fight for what was necessary when you were in mental and physical pain. After jumping through hoop after hoop and seeing lawyer after lawyer he finally gave up. Two years had gone by before he had any substantial relief from symptoms or improvement with his legal battles.
Because he was a committed patient the clinic kept seeing him for free. After giving up, his problems began to resolve. The patient would have weeks without pain. The {burning|stabbing flashes of intense and horrible pain he had finally decreased. He was able to sleep and drink less. He eventually was able to decrease his pain medication to be able to work again. The man became an expert in personal comp law with a gift for helping those in pain to understand and the blessings of fighting as well as surrender.