Rick L*

Rick’s first back surgery was pretty successful, so when his doctor recommended a second procedure, Rick decided to have it done. Yet almost as soon as he woke from the second surgery, he began having pain that became progressively worse.

“I just figured it would get better,” he says of his pain. He underwent pain treatments ranging from physical therapy to procedures to remove scar tissue. But his symptoms didn’t improve, at least not for long, and Rick had to cope with increasingly intense sensations that sometimes included burning, stabbing, or shooting pain.

During one difficult 9-month period, Rick spent nearly all of his time in bed, immobilized and unable to be on his feet more than a few minutes at a time. Rick’s wife had to wait on him “hand and foot,” reminding him of his quadriplegic grandmother who had been taken care of by his aunts. Rick worried that he was headed the same way, and such thoughts fueled a depression that he struggled with while in pain.

As his wife provided for many of his needs, Rick’s adult son cut the grass and did other tasks around the house. When his son asked Rick to be the best man at his upcoming wedding, Rick took on his pain to fulfill the role. He recalls asking the minister beforehand if he could make sure the ceremony didn’t run too long. On strong medications during the wedding, Rick says that some of his memories of the event are blurred.

When all his other treatment options were exhausted, Rick was implanted with a neurostimulator, and soon he experienced 75% pain relief. Consequently, he was able to take less pain medication, which improved his concentration and alertness. Now he walks more and spends less time thinking about his pain and more time focusing on the things he wants to do.

“It’s been a great blessing to me,” he says of his neurostimulation experience. “It’s an absolute world of difference. It’s like a resurrection.”

If you are considering spinal cord stimulation and would like to correspond with Rick, email him at RickL@sjmneuro.com.