I was a pet groomer for 25 years and I am an outdoor kind of person, always doing something physical. But on one particular weekend I rode our horses, I mowed our four- acre yard, did some weed whacking, and ripped the drywall out of our garage.
The next morning I got up to go to work and I had so much pain in my lower back and left leg that I was in tears. I went to a chiropractor and I got absolutely no relief. I went to my family doctor and she sent me to physical therapy, which lasted for a couple of sessions, with no relief. I went to a pain clinic and ended up having various types of injections, which provided temporary or no relief.
Then as a last resort (after two years of pain) my doctor at the pain clinic decided to do a discogram and it showed that I had at least two discs that had no fluid in them and one disc that was leaking badly. That is when I decided surgery was the next option.
I had two back surgeries within a month. The first was a level three disc fusion and the second was to drain fluid that had built up from the first surgery. I was in a body brace for three and one-half months and was constantly taking prescription painkillers.
Out of desperation I talked to my family doctor about any other options and she referred me to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics UI Spine Center. I was very skeptical at this point, but I felt that this was my last hope.
The people at the UI Spine Center understood that my pain was real, not just something in my imagination. In the UI Spine Rehabilitation Program, I did physical therapy and I learned how to walk correctly again and to do exercises correctly (which was a big challenge).
In the psychology part, I learned relaxation techniques and coping skills that helped me deal with the pain. I knew I wanted to have a career again, so the vocational part got me thinking about what I would be able to do. I am now taking college courses to become a certified veterinary technician (at age 47)!
After the Spine Rehabilitation Program I really improved. The results weren’t immediate, but with time and a lot of hard work following the program that they taught me - I just kept getting better and better. I had hope again.
Now I am back taking care of the farm and the house, I have a job working at a veterinary hospital, and best of all I am riding my horses!!
I still have days where I will have some pain but now I know how to work through it and deal with it. It scares me to think where I would be today without the help from all the great people at the UI Spine Center. I wake up every morning appreciating the fact I can get out of bed without terrible pain and I can do the things I want to do again. The Spine Rehabilitation Program gave me my life back.
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