The sadness of human deformities: every sneeze is like a heavy hammer hitting their spinal cord

The following is from a real case I have received. In order to protect the privacy of patients, the characters in the text are pseudonyms.

Every sneezing can be a fatal blow to yourself

The girl, 26 years old named Xiao Bai, has the envy of city girls, 80 pounds, but he suffers from a disease that most people have never heard of.

She lay on the hospital bed, hiding her head in the quilt.

She was too thin to feel like there was no one in the hospital bed if she didn't pay attention. His bedside table had never been as varied as milk, drinks and fruits as other patients, flowers and nutrients had never been seen before, except for a washed bottle of clean old dry mother filled with half a glass of boiled water.

Every time the director made a round, he slipped his head out of the quilt a little. The head cannot be turned, only squinting at us.

It hurts our neurosurgery women because most of them have to shave their hair because of surgery. Losing the protection of her hair, the girl lost her self-confidence, as if naked, exposed to the doctor.

She is from Yunnan, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, at a young age, is already a mother of 2 children, and the eldest daughter is 9 years old.

In remote areas, such families are not uncommon. Some girls are reluctant to get married and want to enjoy more of their youth. But for her, for such a family, there is always her own story and helplessness. With children, take care of the elderly, husbands work outside the home, children grow up a little, can have their own life, life can be lived.

In the past 5 years, the hands have slowly disobeyed the call, and the things in the hands have suddenly landed on the ground, and then it has become difficult to hold the bowl. Moving more and more difficult, walking slowly, on crutches, to a wheelchair. I really can't insist, my husband took her to Hefei to take a picture of magnetic resonance.

The disease is very rare, but only one tablet is required for diagnosis. Atlantoccipital deformity – A deformity of joint development between the head and neck. It was not visible at birth, like a healthy child. Puberty is also generally fine, but over time, 10, 20, 30 years, with the day-to-day bowing movements, the bones of the cervical spine slowly pierce into the brain. The "dental process" at the anterior edge of the second cervical spine, like teeth, is constantly inserted into the spinal cord.

The compression of the spinal cord causes the brain and body to break the connection, there are many manifestations, can not walk, can not lift things, neck pain to the point of unable to move, the whole body loses sensation, is burned by boiling water is not known.

There was another patient before, every time he sneezed would stimulate the spinal cord, after sneezing, he could not move, had to lie on the ground, slow down for 10 minutes, to get up. In fact, every time you exert force, you will hit a hammer on the spinal cord.

Some patients actually die after a big sneeze.

Even if you pay great attention to not moving around at home every day, with the passage of age, squeezing more and more severely, after a few years, slowly unable to move your hands and feet, and then lie on the bed, watching the anger on your body disappear day by day.

In fact, human deformity diseases are not uncommon, but if the location of the deformity is just the cervical spine inserted into the skull, it is very difficult to treat, becoming a terminal illness, more than "gradually freezing people".

There are no drugs, it's all about craftsmanship

Good surgeons like this challenge the most, anyway, after the spinal cord is squeezed out, it is a dead end, and even do not need to squeeze off, just a little pressure, will paralyze the patient, why not Bo. The method of surgery is not uniform, but the principle is to put steel nails on the head and neck to fix the joints of the head and neck. Let the spinal cord stop being stressed.

If possible, it is also possible to pry the joints that have been displaced, making the already compressed spinal cord a little easier.

Although there are steel nails, the bones in the head and neck are very thin, and the most reliable steel nails will not be overwhelmed, and some bones can only be taken from their own bodies, hoping that the 2 joints will fuse and grow together. Although I can't bow my head in the future, I can live.

Isn't this disease special?

This is also the temple of technology that surgeons pursue, using craftsmanship, rather than drugs, to make patients better live.

We have a lot of people with spinal cord disease who come in wheelchairs or on crutches.

Before the operation, the director easily told him,

"After the surgery, leave the crutches to us because you don't need it anymore!"

But every such patient makes us walk on thin ice, especially Xiao bai, which is more difficult and more difficult.

Xiao Bai is only 80 pounds, 26 years old, flesh and bones like a 14-year-old child. The problem with the operation was that his skull was too thin to be fixed with the shortest screws, and in the process of reduction, if not careful, the bone may be broken, and the life-saving operation will become a murderous operation.

But no matter how much risk you take, you still have to operate, otherwise you can only watch her paralyze. His condition was getting worse day by day, and on the eve of the operation, his hands could not be lifted.

The process of surgery is actually a process that reflects the patience and game of the doctor, and of course, the experience and courage. I want to pull its cervical spine back to the structure of a normal person, but I don't dare to use too much force to hold it.

After the operation, before reviewing the first film, we all have a line hanging in our hearts, although the family understands the risk of surgery, and there is no too high requirement, but in case the effect is not good, no doctor can sleep.

The film came out, although the dislocation was not completely alleviated, and there was still a gap with normal people. However, from the perspective of an expert, it is very rare for surgery to achieve such an effect.

On the first day after the operation, the next day, her hands, which she could not lift, could be raised with trembling. But her mood was still very low. Understandably, she still has most of her life in the face, and she does not have enough confidence. Other people's rounds are mainly to inquire about the condition, and when the rounds come to his bed, all the doctors and family members want to make fun of it.

"Be strong and remember that you are a mom of two!" The director still said this sentence.

This sentence, as if poking at a point of tears, curled up in the cup, but his eyes were suddenly moist.

She cried differently than others, but she shed tears calmly and expressionlessly.

Young children, for many sick parents, are the only reason to live.

But, since then, we've felt her mental state change and occasionally catch our jokes. I would practice raising my legs and raising my hands in bed. On the seventh day after the operation, the custom brace arrived, protecting its head and neck, and the equally simple husband, holding him and holding him, relearned walking in the hallway.

Although it is awkward, it still insists

She improved every day and the doctors and nurses were happy. But we also know in our hearts that his fragile head and neck connection, as long as it can not be aggravated, life self-care is already good. If you push too hard, the surgery may fall short.

Today finally waited for the day of discharge, he can walk on his own under the support of himself, he can also eat by himself, compared to the state of almost paralyzed more than half a month ago, I think the effect has been very good.

The husband asked, "Do you go home and work?"

This question surprised me, and it was obvious that my family had higher expectations.

The director replied, "You have set higher demands on me!" ”

"Is it okay to do housework at home?" Obviously, in such a family, it is impossible to ask someone to greet her, but instead she needs him to take care of the children.

"As a doctor, we want you to recuperate at home so that your quality of life will be better!" Of course, everyone's family situation is different. However, Xiao Bai, you have to remember that if there is a problem next time, there may be no chance of surgery, you know it yourself, how to do it later, you see for yourself. ”

Looking out the window at the sunlight, most of them walked out of the hospital and began to welcome a new life. There are too many people around us who are seriously ill, and after being cured, they all seem to have changed into a person, and the city and pool that were originally planned have long become clouds of smoke and have been reborn.

But unfortunately, not everyone can have such courage and confidence.

Life is like a treadmill, and after one person falls, the whole family falls. If you insist on trying to get up, the posture must be difficult to be graceful. But for the sake of the family and the children, no matter how bad it is, you have to keep up until you are exhausted.

I once met a young mom with cancer in her spinal cord, having surgery tomorrow and most likely facing paralysis. Still on the phone arguing at 10pm, I thought she was worried about the surgery, walked in and listened, he was cursing his husband for not taking the kids to review tomorrow's exam.

Xiao Bai was discharged from the hospital, and he finally smiled with us. The smile was as flat as ever, but I read a lot of hardships in life. I was afraid that he would work hard and eventually worsen his illness, and I even hoped that his husband's small business would make more money, so that she could easily recuperate at home, so that she could not come back to us, and live a long and good life.

Finally, I also tell everyone that if young people have unexplained weakness in their hands and feet, they can do a head and neck MAGNETIC resonance as early as possible.