Wanda’s Story

On one of Wanda Bentley’s many hikes she took when she was younger, she began climbing to the top of a waterfall. Close to the apex, she slipped, rolled, and landed poorly on some jagged rocks. She remembered this being the beginning of her back pain.

After years of discomfort and visits to doctors with unsuccessful solutions, she eventually found a surgeon to help. During the surgery, the doctor placed two rods in her back that eventually showed through her skin. She described it as looking “like I had a horn.” Along with the poor appearance, pain crept back in. She went back to the doctor in hopes of getting relief again, only to have him say, “Wanda, this is just your lot in life.” Disappointed, she determined to live as normally as she could, despite her painful circumstances.

The pain soon spread from her back to her head, and she began having recurring, almost daily, headaches. Knowing this was from the rods, she counseled with a new doctor. She was relieved when the doctor had a suggestion — he sent her to Dr. Edwards. 

From the first meeting with Dr. Edwards, she knew she was in the right hands. He told her that a lumbar fusion would be the best option, and Wanda agreed to having the surgery. The surgery went very well and Wanda was hopeful that she might finally be on the road to being pain-free.

But only two months after the surgery, while shopping with a friend, she felt a sudden pain in her back, describing it as feeling like she’d been hit with a baseball. After finding no external source of the pain, Wanda went to the hospital for imaging. The results were disappointing—one of the original rods that had been put in her back years before had broken.

She revisited Dr. Edwards and agreed to have a revision surgical fusion to remove the old hardware and give her a better solution. Dr. Edwards placed one big rod down Wanda’s spine for secure support.

After years of pain and unsuccessful solutions, this surgery finally restored Wanda’s back -- and her life -- enabling her to stand taller, walk straighter, and live life to the fullest with her husband, 4 children, 9 grandchildren, and 6 great grandchildren.

#summitbrainandspine

#drjohnedwards

#lifeisback