Re: Germany trip
From: Sally Grigg (LostCst@mcn.org)
Thu Apr 24 14:34:35 2003
At Wed, 23 Apr 2003, Karen Steward wrote:
>
>Hello to the USA-----!!!! No place compares, except maybe Germany!
>I know many of you are wondering about Melissa. First let me say a big
>hearty thank you to all that prayed, sent messages, called Dr. Kruschins i,
>asking about Melissa (he told us each time) YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!
>Thanks to all that sent letters of encouragement for Melissa's surprise ook
>of inspiration! You should have seen the frenzy at the office RIGHT befo e
>leaving
>for the airport! Miranda, (daughter) and I were 2 wild, crazy women,thro ing
>pages
>everywhere, sticking cute little stickers on the e mails, scanning in ph tos
>of Melissa's
>family and dogs for collage pages, making a cover, etc.and all the while my
>husband
>was being his usual self--saying we had to LEAVE. (Why do men do this??) We
>were
>not stressed until he started in--then everything got chaotic--lost the eys
>to the car. etc.
>That REALLY made him happy! We got to the airport with a good 10 minutes to
>spare before boarding. No problem! Anyway, I have not been able to read ny
>posts,
>(internet down) but, thanks especially to Anthea, Carolyn, Tonya & Lynn.
>You are the
>ones I know for sure that I need to say thanks to!! I will thank everyo e
>else personally as I am able to read this messed up service! UGH! Anyway,
>the book was WELL worth the effort!!
>The look on her face was GREAT!! She cried, cried and cried. Put it down to
>stop crying, had it an hour later and cried and cried again. It was such a
>big encouragement to her, reading all the nice letters from her family a d
>so many of you, writing as if you had known her forever! I know you know her
>pain--and that makes an unfortunate, but common ground. I had to tell
>her all about each one of you as she read!! lol...and now, she is ready o
>look at the adhesion sites and post a message! She felt as if she knew e ch
>one of you, and cried with many of you.Thanks to everyone!
>We are home, slept a few hours (much needed)--it is 2:00 am here and I am
>wide awake once
>again, so came to the computer and UGH..it has gotten all messed up
>since I left.......can't get on any sites, read the boards, can't reach y
>Aussie
>friends at Bombobeach. I am attempting to post a message on the IAS and
>hopefully it will post.
>
>I don't know where to begin, but I know women want all the details! Here
>goes:
>
>We arrived in Frankfurt after a 9 hour flight. Melissa had developed one of
>her
>typical migraines in flight. She was in total misery, getting close to t e
>throwing
>up stage. We found our lady waiting, just as we had been told, with an
>EndoGyn sign.
>(Melissa laughed at this--saying, "Well, everyone knows WHY we are here! ) I
>am going
>to encourage Dr. Kruschinski to change his sign to "Babes Arriving from
>America".....lol.....
>
>The EndoGyn sign lady had a beautiful face and smile and knew quickly
>Melissa was very
>ill. Her name was Steffi--she was a trooper, grabbing luggage and helpin so
>Melissa could just get to the car.
>
>We arrived in Seligenstadt at Dr. Kruschinski's office just as another
>American couple
>had arrived. We were taken to the apartment and given an hour to rest (t row
>up, etc....!!!!!!)..........then Michaela, the nurse, arrived and told
>Melissa she MUST get up and go for EKG, blood tests, etc., as surgery was
>scheduled for the next day.
>
>So, off we went, Melissa vomiting several times at each lab, Klinik, etc I
>felt like
>the mom from hell.......you all know how you feel when your child is
>suffering and
>you know YOU are the one that got them into this! I knew Melissa was in a
>fog,
>because of the pain and we were just leading her in and out of each plac . I
>will
>say that the lab and Klinik, both, came running with anti-nausea medicat ons
>in an
>effort to help her. Neither worked---but it was comforting to know they
>CARED!
>
>Next we were to meet Dr. Kruschinski to discuss surgery. We arrived back at
>his
>office and upon meeting him, and he, seeing Melissa's condition, told us to
>"go rest and we will discuss in the morning before surgery".........wow! Now
> this is
>a guy I like. We all know, most USA doctors do not adjust their schedule to
>meet your
>silly pain!! (Sorry, couldn't resist)
>
>Melissa was a little better the next morning and we promptly discussed
>surgery.
>I have to say this was the first time I felt total confidence prior to
>surgery. Dr. Kruschinski
>is warm, kind, caring and confident in his skill. He assessed Melissa's
>history (that
>is such a mess) and assured us that she would go home from Germany ADHES ON
>FREE. He is very open, does not rush through any of the discussion, smil s a
>lot,
>(don't we like a doctor that smiles???!!!----that in itself is SO exciti g),
>he exudes a
>human compassion for the patient. He shakes your hand many times (someth ng
>I
>really liked and appreciated)........he also never excluded me. He has t e
>ability to explain
>everything in detail to the patient, but was never offended if I, (the
>non-patient)
>asked a question. (Most of you know the stigma that a mom of an ADULT
>patient carries
>in the USA)............. At each conclusion, he shook Melissa's hand and my
>hand. Each and
>every time, we were treated with respect and dignity and were given ample
>opportunity
>to ask questions.
>
>Being that Melissa has been ill since age 13, and knowing that prior
>surgeries have not
>helped, Melissa went to Germany, for the most part, because of the old
>snorting, pushing
>bull behind her (me)....lol.....she had reached the conclusion she would
>always be sick,
>no one would (could) help her, was not convinced that adhesions were here
>problem
>(even though we have photos of severe pelvic adhesions with bowel
>involvement, that
>were lasered "out" (????) in her prior US surgeries).
>
>Dr. Kruschinski performed surgery, finding and removing adhesions from t e
>large and
>small intestines, liver, diaphragm, stomach, and pelvic area. SprayGel w s
>applied to
>all areas. Photos of the adhesed areas were provided, along with photos f
>the blue
>SprayGel areas. For those that may not know, Spray Gel is applied after he
>adhesions are taken down by adhesiolysis. On her second look, 7 days lat r,
>one other area was found and a
>little more surgery was required. Again, photos were provided of this
>surgery. The rest of the
>second look photos showed an AMAZING, healthy looking, bowel, tissues, l ver
> etc. I look at these photos over and over. The difference is unbelievab e.
>Her insides look shiny, healthy and well!
>We were so afraid her female organs had been destroyed by adhesions (fir t
>surgery in US showed severe adhesions of the pelvis, with all reproducti e
>organs adhered together, bowels attached to bladder, uterus, and fallopi n
>tubes that were so adhesed they bulged; unable to empty). Her pelvic are s
>look almost completely normal now!! The area looks healthy and it is
>wonderful to see normal looking organs, no nasty saran-wrap type adhesio s,
>no bloody sores, etc. like we have seen in the past. Dr. Kruschinski has no
>doubt she can conceive!
>
>How does Melissa FEEL? She has not had a migraine since the day of
>surgery!!YEAH!! (she had previously had DAILY headaches---many turning i to
>migraines); she has not said, "I feel sick",
>or "I feel sick-I shouldn't have eaten" (we had previously heard that EV RY
>time she ate),
>and has not felt nauseated since surgery!!!!! HOORAY!!! Melissa had dealt
>with nausea
>every day for the last 13 years! Dr. Kruschinski said the nausea and
>headaches are a
>result of the adhesions on the stomach, liver, etc. She has also began
>sleeping completely through the night after surgery; a welcome relief! A d
>yesterday she told me, "It's weird, but I
>feel like it is easier to breathe".........(adhesions on the diaphragm m de
>simple breathing
>a more struggled effort)...........on the flight home she told me that
>something" was definitely
>"different" in her stomach since surgery. She said, "I realize my whole
>belly is real relaxed and I
>can no longer feel my intestines inside---is that normal?" Then she adde ,
>Can't you feel
>your intestines?"---"I could always feel mine and now I can't."
>
> Because her intestines have been wrapped up in adhesions for so many ye rs,
>she thought everyone could "feel" their intestines!! She is adjusting to new
>sensations (pain-free)!! I can tell it will take a little while for the dea
>and sensation of HEALTH to become Melissa. She has little recollection of
>early, pain-free childhood. The misery had gone on so long, she is havin to
>take this new feeling in bits and pieces. I will gladly allow her that t me!
>
>I will finish up by saying there are no words to express my gratitude to Dr.
>Kruschinski!! A "thank-
>you" seems so inadequate! A hand-shake and a hug are not enough either! ow
>can I express thanks to someone that has the skill, knowledge, ability,
>compassion, and GIFT to give
>me back my daughter? Nothing in this world can adequately express what I
>feel, or what our
>family feels. He's the best of the best!
>
>I have learned through our experience/trip that it is not Germany, the
>AbdoLift or SprayGel that has restored my daughter. Germany is only the
>country in which you must go to reach Dr. Kruschinski! The AbdoLift and
>Spraygel and equipment he uses are only the tools! Yes, they are all
>necessary and must come together for surgery and we all thank God for the
>AbdoLift and SprayGel, and proper equipment (that US doctors do not have ,
>however, I know in my heart, you can place the proper tools in another
>person's hand and not get the same results!!! We all know gifted people hat
>can paint a picture on a canvas, but just because we place a brush in
>another's hand and even give them proper instruction, we know we won't h ve
>the painting of the artist!! Dr. Kruschinski is a gifted artist of his
>profession!!
>He has the eye of an artist to see the detail of the adhesion pain! He h s
>the mind to understand the sufferer's pain! He has the skill to apply the
>technique in the proper fashion to get the RESULT that is so desperately
>needed! I believe his mind, his eyes and his hands are a gift from God t at
>many people have prayed for! We all know too well how many doctors have
>TRIED (and many times with good intentions) to "rid" the ARD sufferer of the
>pain---but, how many can say they went into surgery KNOWING the doctor w uld
>give them his 100% effort to remove pain caused by adhesions? Dr.
>Kruschinski was as,(or more), excited as I, to hear Melissa say her pain was
>gone! I loved his enthusiasm and anticipation of the end results! He cam in
>after surgery, smiling, and asking, "How do you feel--only surgery pain,
>yes??" I LOVED THAT!!! As soon as he shook our hands and left, I was over
>her bed saying, "Only surgery pain, yes!!!??" We were both laughing. She
>was sore and couldn't decide how she felt! Dr. Kruschinski has a zeal I ave
>NEVER seen in a doctor in the US. (And we have been to COUNTLESS). He pa ses
>his enthusiasm to the family member and the patient. He KNOWS he removed the
>pain, pulling, tugging, nausea causing, migraine resulting, (and a host f
>other symptoms in different people) horrible adhesions! I love a person hat
>loves their work and goes forth with zeal, gusto and EXPECTATION of RESU TS
>from that work! It is his business, his life. Dr. Kruschinski gives his ll,
>going beyond expectation, running after hours, calling and checking on e ch
>patient. He is a master of his profession. A skillful artist indeed. An to
>this artist, Dr. Daniel Kruschinski, my hat is off, my tears haven't sto ped
> and I must say I will forever be grateful! Our family is SOOOO grateful
>too!! Many tears were shed yesterday at the airport!! (Hey, they REALLY
>missed us)
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Karen Steward
>
>P.S. Melissa is on NO pain medications......now, how about that???
>
--
God Bless you both and all of your family. I'm so happy for you. Its a
miracle. With kindest regards and much empathy and a few tears, Sally Grigg