10/25/2024
Now that I’m out of the hospital, I’m going to explain exactly what I’ve been battling and share some things I discovered during my stay. It’s a long read, but it may help you in the future.
WHAT HAPPENED
When I was 23, I had a terrible car accident and broke my jaw in 2 places. Unfortunately, given the location of the crash, the emergency situation, and my immigrant parents who didn’t know how to advocate for me, I was taken to a subpar hospital and stuck with an on-call doctor, who wasn’t skilled in oral surgery.
Three operations later, I had two large metal plates holding my lower mandible together and a bacterial infection that almost killed me. I was also disfigured and paralyzed on the left side of my lower lip. Little did I know, this was not the end of it.
Every few years, my front plate kept getting infected and every oral surgeon I saw urged me to get it removed. This was not a serious option for me, given what I’d been through… until now.
CURRENT SITUATION
This past August, the plate became infected again, but this time, antibiotics didn’t work. 4 different rounds later, I was feeling ill, and decided to have the emergency surgery to get this thing out once and for all. It was clear that my body didn’t want it in there anymore.
It was not an easy surgery, but I was lucky to have Dr. Manolakakis, my friend, colleague (I do all of his patients’ pre- and post op nutrition plans), and one of THE best surgeons in the tri-state area taking care of me.
The infection rotted part of the bone in my jaw, which had to be replaced with cadaver (just in time for Halloween horror movie plot 😂). To make matters worse, some of the screws were so overgrown with bone that they couldn’t be removed. And after being in hospital on IV antibiotics for days, the infectious disease specialists still couldn’t identify the strain.
WHAT I LEARNED
Spending a few days at the hospital was an eye opening experience. It is not a place that’s designed to restore health (and I was at a wonderful hospital, with an amazing, hardworking, and caring staff. Imagine the others!). Much like the ER, it's there to ensure you don't die and maximize its revenues before sending you home.
This is evident in their procedures, which include feeding you poison (when nutrition is most important), waking you up every few hours (when sleep is paramount to your healing process), pumping you full of toxic and expensive drugs (vs incorporating healing herbs and supplements that are far cheaper and oftentimes more effective), and keeping you away from sunlight and fresh air (which are crucial to recovery and good health in general).
Unfortunately, most of us will find ourselves in a hospital at some point in our lives, so it is imperative that you know what to do, what to ask for, and how to advocate for yourself ... and in the event that you aren't capable of advocating for yourself, make sure that you have an advocate fighting for you.
I sincerely hope that you save some of the information that l'll be posting as it may save you or a loved one's life one day.
Hospitals need to do better by their patients. And we have a right to demand that, ESPECIALLY at $3000+ per day!
