Christy tells their story of how the AdventHealth Medical Group Spine Health team helped to diagnose, treat and heal their condition. Read their testimonial to learn more about our approach to helping our patients live pain-free.
Christy is always just a phone call away when fellow AdventHealth employees need her – or rather, her computer expertise. As a management information systems analyst, Christy spends her time making sure computer services are up-to-date and working properly so employees can efficiently care for patients and complete their daily tasks. But when Christy developed severe back and leg pain, it was time for AdventHealth employees to be there for her in her time of need.
“I had to roll out of bed, I couldn’t push the vacuum or climb onto my husband’s Harley Davidson,” Christy says. “I had a shooting pain down my leg and it was very hard to stand up straight.”
Christy initially sought help from her family physician, who recommended physical therapy to help control her pain and improve her range of motion. The PT helped, but after 4-6 weeks of therapy and independent exercise, her pain was still keeping her from fully participating in certain activities. Her physician therefore decided to refer her to Dr. Chetan Patel, a world-renowned spine specialist and medical director of AdventHealth Medical Group Spine Health in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
After a few diagnostic tests, Dr. Patel was able to determine the specific cause of Christy’s constant back and leg pain – lumbar stenosis, lumbar spondylolisthesis and a right L4-5 herniated disk. Seeing that physical therapy hadn’t worked to address her condition, Dr. Patel suggested surgery and soon after performed an L4-5 discectomy, laminectomy and fusion.
View our Back to Basics videos to discover proper bending, lifting and twisting techniques.
“Since the surgery, I feel absolutely wonderful and have had no pain since day one,” Christy says. “I am back to doing all physical activities with no issues at all.”
It’s now been over two years since Christy’s surgery, and she has only good things to say about SHI and her surgical experience. She is still pain-free and extends her thanks to Dr. Patel and his experienced medical team for giving her a clean bill of health.
“The team at the Spine Health Institute is fantastic and Dr. Patel is awesome,” Christy says. “They were great at answering any questions my husband and I had. I have told other people who have back issues about my experience and let them know that they would be in the best of care.”
We are happy to hear that you are still pain-free, Christy! And we’re especially excited to see you get back on that Harley.
If you’ve been experiencing back pain, give our office a call at 407-303-5452 or click on the Book Online button at the top of this page. Dr. Chetan Patel strives to provide the least invasive treatments possible for a variety of back and neck conditions. For educational videos on common spine conditions and prevention tips, visit our SpineU video library.
