Mike D*

It took a lot of energy to keep up with Mike before his accident. Managing part of an insurance company by day and teaching business school classes by night, he was rarely inactive. On weekends, when he wasn't preparing for classes, he and his wife would visit flea markets and craft fairs or ride through the scenic Pennsylvania countryside near their home.

A day on the road would change all that when a driver rear-ended Mike and caused injuries that led to chronic pain. In the months following the accident, his pain would be treated with injections and physical therapy, but Mike never got adequate relief. He considered having surgery but hesitated when the surgeon told him it might not help. He began to feel that he was running out of options until he was referred to a pain specialist who told him about spinal cord stimulation (SCS). "My wife and I had previously worked in healthcare for many years," he says, "but we'd never heard of this [SCS]." After learning about the therapy and agreeing to a trial SCS procedure, Mike still wasn't sure what the procedure would be like. "You always expect the worst-case scenario, but that was not the case. The trial was excellent. It felt like an effective way of limiting of the pain."

Because of his positive experience during the trial, Mike decided to have an SCS permanent procedure in August of 2004. After recovering from surgery and learning how his neurostimulator system worked, he was able to return to many of his normal activities, including teaching part time. During his recovery, Mike was able to spend about 25 hours each week instructing students in a topic he knows well—insurance reimbursement.

Since February 2007, Mike has since been able to return to full-time employment as an insurance claims examiner.

He says he's glad that SCS is being offered to patients with chronic pain. "Everyone worries about risk, but to know that it [SCS] is not in the same class as some other treatments makes it a great option," he says. "It gives you better functioning and less pain—that's pretty huge in my book."