BOSTON – A Cape Cod woman reached out to the I-Team’s Call for Action after struggling to get her health insurance provider to approve an overnight hospital stay for a major surgical procedure.
Trigeminal neuralgia is a painful condition that sometimes requires surgery to treat. Lynne McGraw says, for her, the pain was debilitating. “I have constant pain as if somebody has stabbed me and left the knife there,” Lynne said. “It feels like I’m being electrocuted. So, very painful.”
Operation involves neurosurgeon
Drugs and a less invasive procedure did not work for Lynne. She needed the delicate operation that involves a neurosurgeon making an incision in the back of her head and putting a pad between the affected nerve and the arteries to relive the pressure and the pain.
If successful, Lynne would get immediate relief. But it is not always permanent. The condition is chronic, and Lynne did have the surgery once before years ago. In June the pain came back. Lynne says her only option is to have the surgery again. “I can’t do anything to feel better,” Lynne said. “I can’t put ice on it or heat because it makes is worse.”…