Patient Stories
Verla's Journey Back to Life
Verla, an everyday kind of gal from Elkridge, Utah, knows the meaning of persistence. For 30 years, she struggled with back pain, a result of numerous surgeries, the toil of her strenuous career, and the simple act of caring for a bustling family. ..
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How A Toothache Led To Life-Saving Surgery
Carden Reynolds lay incapacitated on the floor. The pain came in waves from 30 to 60 minutes. Yet a few weeks later, his episodes began lasting 2 hours, 4 hours, and then 5 hours at a time. He never expected he’d ever consider suicide. But the pain was so excruciating, he didn’t know what else to do.
And it all began with a toothache.
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How Robotics Cured Years of Torturous Pain, Giving Michael His Life Back
As Michael McCarther moved a heavy couch, it slipped from his grip. He hurried to catch it before it crashed to the ground. As he did, a white-hot flame of fiery pain shot up his back. From that point on, everything was different in his life. As a result, sometimes he couldn’t move at all for up to 30 minutes. And he had to use a walking stick for years and was constantly hunched over afterward, even though he was still a relatively young man.
It all began 30 years before during a routine soccer game.
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Relief After a 7-year Battle
The morning Carole Church of Fairview, Utah arrived at the hospital for her double mastectomy due to breast cancer, she couldn’t fathom why her hip hurt so bad. Lying in bed recovering after surgery she thought, “Why would I have so much pain in my hip after a breast cancer procedure?”
Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of her 7-year battle.
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Scary Car Accident Surgery Becomes A Great Experience
After her car accident, Dena Hymas expected some lingering symptoms. But months of ringing in the ears, severe numbness in the hands, double vision, balance issues, and even loss of cognitive functions like spelling, math, and multitasking seemed like a lot more than “normal” car accident issues.
Little did she know that portions of her brain began slipping dangerously into her spinal column.
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Fit Former Gymnast Saved From Terrible Back Pain Recovers from Surgery Without Narcotics
As fit and healthy as she was, Melanie Lee never thought she’d have debilitating back pain. But when she woke up one morning with pain inexplicably shooting through her lower back and down her legs, she realized just how awful severe back pain could be.
Once the pain became so bad that she couldn’t even bend down to put her own socks on, she knew something was very wrong.
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Sometimes all the stars align.
Bryan was in excruciating pain from a fall he had while playing tennis. He was told it would take several weeks before artificial disc replacement surgery could be performed, but then he received a call from Dr. John Edwards. Bryan couldn’t believe how the stars had aligned for him.
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Mission accomplished.
Stephen and his wife were serving a Church mission at the Naval Academy in Maryland when he developed severe back pain, caused by a cyst putting pressure on a nerve root. After researching his options, Stephen chose to come to Utah so Dr. John Edwards could remove the cyst. Within two weeks, he was back in Maryland to complete his mission.
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Just two more footsteps.
When Keaton dove off the end of a pier head first, he didn’t know the water was only 18 inches deep. He lay in the water, face down, unable to move. Thanks to the help of his girlfriend, his mom, and his doctor, Keaton got the help he needed.
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Life changing moment.
Beth has always known that life can change in an instant, but like most people, she never expected it to be her own. One day she was gardening, canning, and planning an outing with her grandchildren, and the next, she was being life-flighted to the hospital.
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Jessica Gets Her Life Back
Jessica fought through back pain for years, which curtailed her favorite activities…until she finally called Dr. Andrea Brock for help.
Now standing 1.5 inches taller post-surgery, Jessica is thrilled with the outcome. She marvels at feeling her legs again and living without pain. In expressing her gratitude to Summit she commented, “Dr. Brock is confident and calm and made me feel confident and calm too. She’s amazing and I owe my life to her!”
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More grateful than ever.
Sydney was injured in a tubing accident. She required emergency surgery. 22 years old and newly married, she wondered what the rest of her life might be like.
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Jessica Gets Her Life Back
Jessica fought through back pain for years, which curtailed her favorite activities…until she finally called Dr. Andrea Brock for help.
Now standing 1.5 inches taller post-surgery, Jessica is thrilled with the outcome. She marvels at feeling her legs again and living without pain. In expressing her gratitude to Summit she commented, “Dr. Brock is confident and calm and made me feel confident and calm too. She’s amazing and I owe my life to her!”
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Back to the great outdoors.
Darren had lived with back pain since he was eleven years old. He tolerated the soreness, but as the years went by, the pain increased and kept him from doing his favorite activities more and more. Then one day the pain was so bad, he had to call a neighbor to help him, and the neighbor referred him to a friend named Shea. A nurse practitioner at Summit Brain and Spine.
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Jessica Gets Her Life Back
Jessica fought through back pain for years, which curtailed her favorite activities…until she finally called Dr. Andrea Brock for help.
Now standing 1.5 inches taller post-surgery, Jessica is thrilled with the outcome. She marvels at feeling her legs again and living without pain. In expressing her gratitude to Summit she commented, “Dr. Brock is confident and calm and made me feel confident and calm too. She’s amazing and I owe my life to her!”
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In the right hands.
A back injury that happened when Wanda was young led to two rods being placed in her back. But eventually, she began to have terrible back pain, and daily headaches. When she was referred to Dr. Edwards, she knew she was ini the right hands.
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Ready to ride again.
Every summer for years, Jackson put in nearly 2500 miles on his bike. Until he couldn’t.
A back injury from a snowboarding accident seven years ago just got worse and worse, until he couldn’t even sit on the floor and play with his son.
He put off surgery as long as possible, but in the end, it was his best option. And now he’s ready to ride again.
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Love after brain tumor.
Brent was unmarried and spending all his time sleeping at his parents’ house. Not his usual lifestyle, but he just couldn’t see how he’d changed. Turns out he had a massive, 10-centimeter tumor. He says his successful diagnosis and surgery led him to his wife.
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True collaboration. Life changing results.
Emy was having pain every day, every moment, all the time. Ordinary tasks that are part of a normal day as a mom, were almost impossible. Multiple doctors, and as many treatment plans, and still nothing was getting her better. Then, she met with Dr. John Edwards, who had her visit a trauma chiropractor, Dr. Eric Lee. Working collaboratively, Dr. Edwards and Dr. Lee found the root issue, operated on the right problem, and 24 days later, Emy said, “For the first time in months, I don’t have any pain. I have my life back.
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Mom. Hunter. Brain bleed survivor.
Lindsay, mom of three, didn’t know she had a very rare condition called moyamoya disease. Until she had a brain bleed from it. Dr. Edwards saved her life by performing minimally invasive surgery on her brain to clear the blood clot and get her back to her family.
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Still serving.
LaVerne loves community, her job, her family and staying active but struggled with increasingly debilitating back pain, despite trying various forms of physical therapy and injections. The pain persisted, and eventually she couldn’t drive her car because her hands would go numb. Her time with Dr. Edwards changed everything. He performed a minimally invasive surgery to remove what turned out to be bone spurs, and fused all three affected discs. He also repaired multiple levels of arthritis in her neck. Now she continues serving the family and community she loves.
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Back on her feet.
Gayle had spinal stenosis that was so debilitating she was in a wheel chair on her trip to Rome. But after she was treated by Dr. Edwards, who specializes in spinal stenosis, Gayle was soon back to her very active lifestyle on her own two feet.
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Traveling together.
Rick and Nancy Newton love to travel. But they both had severe health concerns that threatened to stop them in their tracks. Rick woke up with back pain he’d never had before. And Nancy started to lose significant peripheral vision in her right eye. They both visited with Dr. Edwards and discovered the root causes in both cases. Rick had a bone spur and a bulging disc. Nancy had a tumor on her pituitary gland. Dr. Edwards scheduled them both for surgery and they both made full recoveries. They’re back to living their lives and seeing the world.
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Everyday life returned.
Scott Pinckney was a pro-golfer rising through the ranks when his low back pain halted everything. Injections weren’t working, so he went looking for a solution to the root cause. He found Dr. Edwards, who repaired an endplate fracture at the L-5. After months of stiffness and chronic pain, it took only five days of recovery for him to feel normal again.
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