I was medically retired from the US Air Force in June 2007. The worst part is that the military doctors blew me off and told me I was lying about my injury to get out of morning PT. What they didn't know is that I was appointed by my commander to lead PT for our squadron. I misjudged a curb and jammed my left leg into the pavement and heard and felt my lower back pop. I was on the ground for about 5 minutes before a group got me over to the base hospital on Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona. My primary care doctor (Lt. Col. Quintana) called me a liar to my face. As a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (Master Sergeant) in the Air Force, I was furious at the fact that this individual that I didn't even really know just threw my integrity in the trash and made such a judgment call about me. After months of physical therapy I ended up on crutches. I demanded a second opinion from an off-base facility. I was seen in Feb 2006 at Tucson Orthopedic Institute and was told that I needed a double lumbar fusion to correct the damage that according to Dr. Quintana, just didn't exist. I had the surgery in June 2006. However the pain and did appear in a totally different area and was caused by the fusion. I now suffer terribly and am on a steady flow of medications for the extreme pain. I am willing to try anything to break this relentless cycle of pain, but according to 4 doctors now my condition is helpless unless they go backwards and break through the fusion to target the nerves that are causing me the pain. I just hope something new will come along to save me from this horrible pain.