considering the mechanisim of your injury,did the ER at the very least,do a CT on you? most ERs wont actually do any type of MRI post accident just because of the chances of the patient having some level of metal irabedded somewhere which as you probably know, could casue some major problems during an MRI, since it IS conductive. did they at the very least here, do an x ray before they removed your c collar? that c spine just HAS to be cleared before they remove the "splint' holding it in place. how fast were you traveling when you hit that wall?
i worked ems for many many years and your particular type of hit(knowing just how fast you were going would help alot), really could have caused some major types of problems, not only to your muscles and spinal area,but possible head injury or nerve damage to the head,and even your low back as well. when that vehicle stops, you just keep moving at whatever speed that vehicle was, so damage to many areas that may not even be hurting or that you are not actually even feeling yet, is still enitrely possible. as you already are aware, not wearing that seatbelt just places you a much higher risk for major problems/injuries/death that you wouldn;t have if that seatbelt were worn (and the right way),ALL the time. i don;t mean to lecture or come off that way,but man,i have seen too many people walk away from major accidents only because they just happened to wear that seatbelt, vs others who have suffered major injuries or even died from completely survivable low speed impact accidents. this is just my personal pet peeve. its just sooo incredibly simple to do and matters when things hit the fan. i have just had to see so many wasted lives over the years, espescially the very inexperienced teens. i do hope from now on this will be a part of your everyday" just do before we drive" type of thing? people would miss you if you if you were not here,trust me. sorry,i am done now.
from what you have described here, you don;t even know what the true extent of any real possible damage is at all yet? were ANY follow up MRIs even done on you ever? that would be the very first thing i would request from your primary at this point,a FULL spinal MRI,including your brain too. you really wont know anything for certain til you can get that good look inside at all areas of possible involvement. considering that mechanism of injury you suffered, it could be just about anything and anywhere right now, espescially your c spine since it would have taken a huge hit the second your head and upper body hit that steering wheel(it just snaps backwarRAB after that initial hit). how do your ribs feel at this point,okay or painful? your whole body just absorbs sooo much energey in any high speed crash.
i just would make an appt with your doc at this point to have that full MRI done. from what you described, nothing was actually thoroughly even looked at at your ER? and quite honestly, considering what you went thru, they should have REALLY looked you over from head to toe, including at least that CT i am really rather shocked that they did not even do this for you. its just a pretty basic ER standard to do at least that much for ANY trauma patient these days,espescially any patient involved in an MVA, at what i am assuming since you were actually on the interstate at high speed and hit a solid immovable wall. its just whoever was your ER doc, simply had no real clue as to the overall extent of your damage and sent you home. thats pretty pathetic for an ER doc. you simply just really NEED that full eval now that was not ever done on you when it should have been post MVA. i really would see your primary and let him know how poorly they evaluated you and what you are experiencing right now. it could very well be indicative of some level of spinal damage. you simply need to know what got injured during that crash and to what extent. only an MRI would do that for you. depending upon what does or does not actually show itself upon MRI, would really dictate any further steps or treatments for you. but at any rate,that FULLeval neeRAB to be done on you now.
just so you know,if you did have insurance on your vehicle at the time of your MVA,that ins would be what would cover any medical expenses in this case and not your regular medical insurance. but DO see yur doc for further eval. i would also request all of your medical recorRAB from the hosp where you were treated after that accident(also,if possible,the medics pre hospital care run sheet. trust me,they DO have a copy), it really sounRAB from what you stated here that they just really dropped the ball on you. you just deserved much better care than what you got. you just wont really "know' anything til you can at least get that full MRI done. hopefully things are not too bad, but it just does need to be done now since it was not immediately, and you are also experiencing some profound symptoms. i do wish you luck with this, and please do keep us posted on anything you find out. Marcia
