Age: 56
Hometown: Chambersburg, PA
Procedure: eXtreme Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF®)
Surgery Date: November 24, 2014
Life Prior to Surgery: April struggled with back pain for five to 10 years. She tried several conservative treatments to alleviate the pain, including massage, physical therapy, epidural injections, and pain medication.
“My pain did not affect my relationship with my family, and friends because everyone was very understanding, kind, and helpful,” she said.
April teaches seventh grade English and found that her pain was disruptive to her work. With only a short break for lunch and prep, she found that the extended time on her feet made the pain worse. The pain even kept her from going on walks with her husband and their puppy, Russel. April even had to exclude herself from walks with her family on family vacations. The back pain was beginning to “hurt [her] heart,” she started becoming increasingly frustrated and emotionally upset about the special moments she was missing with her family.
April was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis and a collapsed disc. Her surgeon recommended surgery after she had several months of physical therapy and a few years of spinal injections. The week before spine surgery she was unable to walk out of her classroom unassisted.
Situation Today: April was walking the same day as her surgery. She walked and completed physical therapy as her post-op regimen. It took her about six weeks to get back to her daily routine. She returned to work after three months of recovery.
April does not have any back pain, is able to participate in all the activities she used to, and is doing more than before!
“I am able to walk for up to three miles without pain,” she said. “I am back to biking, swimming, and kayaking! I am able to play with my six-month-old grandbaby. I can carry her, lift her from the floor, and take care of her throughout the day.”
April is slowly getting back to gardening and, although teaching was a struggle this past spring, she is looking forward to a healthy year, beginning this fall.
15-NUVA-1413