“Miracles Do Happen”: Annette*

Annette tells people she has a “totally new life.” She danced the night away on New Years Eve and went on a 7,400-mile road trip across the United States with her husband – all thanks to the spinal cord stimulator she had implanted in the spring of 2005.

Before she received her neurostimulator system, chronic pain confined Annette to her home. A twisted knee and a combination of weakened bones from childhood polio left her unable to stand or walk for more than 30 minutes at a time and reliant on a cane or walker. Traveling was out of the question.

Multiple surgeries, a 200–pound weight loss, injections, physical therapy sessions, and medications all failed to ease the pain in the right side of her body. She couldn’t sleep, didn’t want to socialize with people, and was unable to lift her grandchildren. She said she just felt worthless.

After visiting six doctors, Annette was referred to a pain management specialist who told her about neurostimulation. Though initially wary of the technology, Wiese was ready to give the stimulator a try. The device reduced her pain level from 8-9 out of 10 to 1-2 out of 10, and she no longer takes medications or uses a cane. Annette calls the procedure a “breath of fresh air” and says her self confidence and sense of worth have gone up drastically. She is now ready to try anything. She and her husband have been on the go since she received her implant—hiking, shopping, traveling, and babysitting the grandchildren. They have just returned from their cross-country road trip, and are already planning a trip to Hawaii.

“I would just tell another pain sufferer that if they want a miracle, they should get a neurostimulator,” she said. “Your spirit will come back.”

*The above testimonial is the experience of this individual only. It is an individual result and we do not claim that it is representative of the experience that all or most patients achieve and is not indicative of future performance or success.