I struggled with gradually worsening sciatic pain over the last 10 years. It progressed to the point that a sharp, stabbing pain in my right gluteus, radiating down all the way to my right ankle, plagued me whenever I was bearing weight. Slowly, I was losing my ability to live my life. I retired from a nearly 30 year career in nursing because I could no longer do the work. Then, our family dog had to be given to my daughter because I could not walk him to the park, only a block away. I could no longer maintain my beloved flowerbeds. Cleaning the house became an impossible chore. Eventually, I could not even tolerate standing long enough to cook a meal. No amount of physical therapy or chiropractic measures seemed to be able to stem the tide. Pain was confining me to either my couch or my bed.
The final straw was a long-planned vacation to Ireland. My husband had to push me around Dublin in a wheelchair. At 53 years young, I could not accept living this way.
In my quest to end this downward spiral, I met Dr. Christian DuBois at TCO, who recognized the degeneration that had occurred in my spine. He performed a 2-level spinal fusion with replacement of the L4/L5 and L5/S1 discs in December of 2018. I was warned that pain relief would not be immediate and my recovery would be long. But when I first stood up after surgery, although sore from the surgical incision, my sciatic pain was gone. Because of how much better I felt, I progressed very quickly through my post-surgery physical therapy, which was also done with TCO.
I have a life again now. Already I’m able to do far more than I ever could a year ago. But my journey is not over! I will continue with TCO for my upcoming knee replacements this year, as there is nobody else with whom I would rather write the rest of my Comeback story.
