Posted on 09/17/2020 1:58:43 AM PDT by nickcarraway
The 27-year-old man had walked away with few injuries but then imaging revealed a possibly cancerous tumor that had been growing for two years
A Frisco man is back on his feet after a car accident revealed a lemon-sized tumor in his spine.
On April 16, 2020, 27-year-old Julio Molina was in car accident, which resulted in minor injuries, including scratches on his face.
To make sure he didn’t have internal injuries, Molina went to the ER at Texas Health Hospital Frisco.
North Texas Giving Day Comes at Crucial Time for Orgs Assisting Those Struggling Amid Pandemic X-ray images revealed a possibly cancerous tumor growing on his spine, threatening his mobility and quality of life.
“He had a large Schwannoma tumor destroying his spine,” said Ricky Kalra, M.D., a neurosurgeon on the medical staff at Texas Health Plano and chair of the hospital’s surgery department.
Cancerous or not, whether left untreated, it could lead to breathing and muscle problems, even paralysis of the face.
For more than two years, Molina unknowingly experienced one of those symptoms.
“At the time, I just thought I had a pinched nerve in my back,” Molina said.
“Sometimes my neck and the back of my head would feel numb, and every couple of months my hands would become numb. I didn’t know it, but the tumor was putting pressure on my spinal cord.”
"It terrified me. The thing that scared me the most was probably how my mom and family would take it. I did try to keep it to myself. I did tell a few select people," said Molina.
That select few included Molina's girlfriend, who told him just a few weeks later, she was expecting their first child.
"As soon as I heard that, all my other thoughts went out the window. I wasn't scared. I wasn't worried. I knew that this was my reason to fight," said Molina.
Molina underwent an intricate, almost 10-hour spine procedure performed at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano to remove the tumor.
To stop the tumor from corroding the vertebrae in Molina’s spine, Dr. Kalra performed a laminectomy, in which he removed the corroded vertebrae. He then performed a spinal fusion to permanently connect several vertebrae in Molina’s spine.
The surgery took weeks of planning.
"If you get into the right hands and they are comfortable doing the surgery, you will come out on the other side just fine. It’s the planning part. It’s the other stuff that happens before the surgery that you have to discuss ahead,' said Kalra.
After the tumor was removed, a pathology report determined the tumor was non-cancerous, and Molina now has six screws and two rods securely holding his spine in place.
He's now in rehabilitation to gain neck strength and may one day tell her daughter about the car crash that saved his livelihood.
"Knowing that the tumor is out, I can raise my daughter with the quality of life that I would like to have."
He sounds very lucky and blessed just as I recently was. I was rushed into surgery on Labor Day with a burst appendix. They were going to do laparoscopic, but once in found a SOFTBALL sized ball of infection that was attached to both my perforated appendix and my colon. Took out appendix and a tiny piece of colon (but not enough to have to have a bag). Dr said if I had not went to ER when I did, I would not have made it. Was in hospital 8 days, but out now and doing well. Dr said I will make full recovery with no future issues from this. Like that fellow, I am lucky and blessed and apparently still have something to do for God in this life.
The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Don Lemon found inside a San Fran Man? Shirley you can’t be serious?
I think the town is Frisco Texas, the Northern most suburb of Dallas. Not The evil place in California.
“Girlfriend” expecting a baby?
Our “New America” doesn’t sit well with me.
A year ago my husband and I went to Via Scan of Los Colinas and had body scans done just for peace of mind. My husband found out he has an aneurysm near his heart. While frightening, it’s good to know so he can have it regularly checked to be sure it’s not growing. Ironically, that prompted my brother-in-law to go as well and he has the same thing. Both have been to cardiologists for verification and further testing.
Ahh. Frisco Texas.They should be safe then. :)
We go to ViaScan every 3 years. Have details to stay off statin drugs - any cholesterol build-up is nowhere near the heart. We know about conditions that need to be watched. Well worth what we pay for it. (always listen for the specials!)
I had one of these tumors removed in 2006. It was attached at C1/C2 and was affecting my lower body. I don’t remember my surgery being as long as reported in this article but I would have to check with my wife.
I was rear ended HARD 10 years ago, went to hospital with sore neck/back for a few hours. Kid's insurance called me EVERY DAY trying to get me to sign off medical since I was in for such a short time, even getting belligerent and bossy. I hired a lawyer to stop the harassment and lawyer said they want off the hook since their client is liable and to start going to Chiropractor and hold them off for a year in case anything develops. They stopped calling and had a checkup 1 year later and cleared then signed with alot more than the pittance they were offering.
Congrats and blessings.
I had a similar experience with an infection on my elbow (possible spider bite).
During my eight days in the hospital, they took an xray of my lungs because I was coughing (allergies and normal).
Found a small mass that turned out to be lung cancer.
“Don Lemon found inside a San Fran Man? Shirley you can’t be serious?”
Very funny, but you BLEW IT!
Don Lemon found inside a San Fran Man? Shirley you can’t be SERIES?
You might want to consider the amount of radiation you are getting with doing the Viascan that often. Some of the full body scans give you about a full lifetime maximum dose of radiation.
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