Dr. Dick seemed to know how to handle me from the beginning. I was in agony, denial and yet stoic and dismissive of the seriousness until I saw the MRI. Even I could tell I was in trouble. He was very thoughtful about the problem and put time into thinking about the best approach. The pain was extreme and debilitating. He settled on a course of surgery, explained it to me and, I signed up. There is a careful confidence about him and after the surgery I came to believe that he is very technically skilled. I could tell even through the pain medications that he had done good, that the stabbing pain was gone. A numbness is lingering where the pain was worst due to the pinched spine. I am six weeks past the surgery and the physical therapy with another appointment in another six weeks and a year of healing and bone recovery and growth, walking exercise and fighting against gravity ahead. I can almost abandon my cane after six weeks. Dr. Dick has a sense of humor that calmed me from the start and drew me in. He was slow to promise because I was minimizing and macho and Germanic about how bad I was feeling. The surgery was five hours and pretty amazing. The members of his team who I met while conscious or in his office were engaging and fun; especially his scribe. I am upright and feeling better back there every day. Even the ten inches of stitchery got praised for its artistry by every nurse who changed the dressing.
