SHERRY HOLLIS – DISC FUSION SURGERY
I’ve always exercised, ate well and maintained an active lifestyle, but things changed for me while on a trip in Florida walking on the beach in shifting sand. Suddenly there was a difference in the way my back felt. It progressed into a sharp constant pain resonating from my left buttock down through my hamstrings. When you’re in perpetual pain, it’s horrible. It was a struggle for me because I enjoy being active. I love being outdoors because we water-ski, scuba dive and my husband and I like to participate in cycle rides, like the MS 150.
While waiting to see a neurosurgeon for the pain, I used a chiropractor for disc decompression therapy. I didn’t feel better after any of the expensive out of pocket sessions. When I did get in to the neurosurgeon, they prescribed several medications that would mask the pain but would not resolve the issue. I was doing all of the prescribed stretching and yoga poses that should have relieved the pain, but I didn’t feel relief. A friend of mine recommended the clinic where Dr. Kushwaha practices. I made an appointment and began seeing him. He agreed with my original diagnosis from the MRI that I had a budging disc but insisted that I have an X-ray taken, which confirmed that I had a both a bulging and slipped disc. The conservative methods I tried didn’t provide me with any relief. I felt I had exhausted those options.
I was having trouble keeping up my lifestyle. One situation in particular to note is when I had just got back home from working a week in Detroit. I walked outside to see my dogs but tripped and injured my big toe which eventually led to me losing my nail. This was a reflection of the pain I was incurring that caused my left leg to drag when trying to keep up with a hectic work schedule.
My husband’s milestone birthday was close and we were preparing to go on vacation to the Florida Keys. I visited Dr. Kushwaha’s office the day before we were scheduled to leave. I was having a hard time getting around with constant pain so I asked him if he could do surgery on me, I was ready to do it! I had the time off. What fun was I going to have if I was in constant pain while I’m walking around in the Keys? I had made up my mind right then and my husband agreed for me to go through with surgery. Dr. Kushwaha’s office made the process really easy and in two days I had disc fusion surgery.
Immediately after I had the surgery, I didn’t have pain anymore. Two rods, four screws and a cadaver bone later, my life is becoming better every day. The fact that the pain was gone was just remarkable. I could walk the day after the surgery. Three months after the disc fusion surgery, we celebrated my husband’s milestone birthday in the Caribbean. I’m not fully cleared for high-impact physical activity just yet, but I would walk and site see as much as I wanted to without pain. It’s an incredible blessing not be held back by that pain anymore.
I unquestionably recommend Dr. Kushwaha. Everything about him and his team has been a good experience. I wish I would have found him much earlier in this journey!