PART 11:WHY DID I GO TO THE ER THAT DAY INSTEAD OF AN URGENT CARE? WHAT DO I USE USUALLY FOR PAIN MANAGEMENT?

When you’re chronically ill in America & your pain gets out of control, you have 2 options.

1. Go to the ER & pray they help you OR

2. Suffer

During the first trial, the county attorney made it look like I was a drug seeking addict that didn’t like the kind of drugs the HEAD NURSE gave me. This was intentionally misleading. I’m disabled & in constant pain, but I’m not an opioid addict.

Most days, I rely on my muscle relaxer (Cyclobenzaprine) & THC & propranolol (a beta-blocker)& ice packs& bedrest to get me through. But, when my pain gets out of control, only opioids will get me out of pain. 

Urgent  cares usually don’t give opioids. ERs do usually give opioids  & they have more specialized equipment which may be necessary bc my condition is medically complex. This is why chronically ill people don’t go to urgent cares. We don’t want to leave our beds unless we felt confident that making the trip will help us.  I don’t think most people know this because most people aren’t chronically ill but chronically ill people mostly go to the ER for pain during a flare because that’s the only place we might get help. For many, it’s our only avenue for relief. If you can’t empathize with us, it’s because you don’t understand the kind of physical & emotional pain we go through. We go to the ER when our at home pain management is not enough. Sometimes, we get help. Sometimes, we don’t. This time, it made things exponentially worse.

Big pharma & hospitals are trying to scare CHRONICALLY ILL PAIN PATIENTS into staying home & shutting up when our pain gets unbearable. I’m not shutting up anymore. Nothing changes when we shut up. I’m sharing the truth so I can help to improve things for the chronically ill in America. I want to stop the medical & legal systems from systematically hurting & taking advantage of the chronically ill/disabled community. Their mission should be to help the public thrive. Instead, hospitals that engage in Medicaid fraud operations are intentionally hurting the public to make more money. This isn’t just gross. It’s criminal.

In  June 2024, I became a victim  of MEDICAID FRAUD. I think this was the motivation for  the BARROWS SECURITY GUARD #1 that made up a false allegation & used excessive force to hurt me when I came to the ER for help with my pain.

First, the HEAD NURSE gave me the wrong type of meds. Later, she had to place a different, corrected order & told me it would be a wait. I patiently waited for the right meds. But, when they arrived, the HEAD NURSE refused to give me any meds bc she didn’t like something I said.

I’m not an opioid addict. I’m disabled & in constant pain. I usually manage my pain with THC edibles & my muscle relaxer & propranolol. But, 3-4 times a year, I have a flare & the meds I have aren’t strong enough to help me. In the first trial, the county attorney said this trial was about drugs. I’m not an opioid addict. I only take opioids 3-4 times a year when my THC edibles can no longer help me.

This is how most chronically ill people have to operate. The county attorney doesn’t seem to know much about chronic illness & seems to look down on me bc I need pain management. He’s uneducated on the topic.

WHY DID I CHOOSE BARROWS NEUROLOGICAL INSTITUTE ER DOWNTOWN?

Like I mentioned, I have brain & spine disabilities. BARROWS IS A  NEUROLOGICAL INSTITUTE & I have neurological problems.. I have been chronically ill for 25 years. I only have episodes like this a few times a year. When it happens, I go wherever I think my best chance of getting help will be.

That day, I chose Barrows Neurological Institute (which is a part of St Joes & Dignity Health) because I had been at a DIGNITY HEALTH ER in MESA a month previous. They found my fibroids but said they couldn’t help me like an ER attached to a neurological hospital could help me. They recommended (when I had my next painful episode) to go to the downtown BARROWS ER.

A month earlier, I was having a similar pain that wasn’t as intense as on 06/18/24 but was still bad. I went to the closest ER to me in Mesa which is a Dignity Health ER. They scanned my abdomen & told me they didn’t know if they were the source of the pain but they found several large fibroids. They said my case was complex and recommended that if it happened again I should go to the Barrows ER downtown (partly bc Dignity Health is a part of Barrows/St Joes). I was able to manage the pain that night & went home.

Once at home, I looked for an OBGYN & a different neurologist I continued to manage my pain without opioids but it got out of control again on 06/18/2024. That’s the day I went to the BARROWS ER.