“I am forever grateful!”

My DISC Experience

Subjective: Sciatica radiating pain down right leg on and off for the past year, constant for past month. Disabling pain upon waking, pain thru the night upon trying to sleep, pain while sitting, pain while walking. Sneezing causing pain levels thru the roof! Unable to perform any extracurricular activities.. .cannot even walk the dogs. Skin on back of right leg has been numb for past two weeks. Past two days have lost sense to empty bladder. Taking 2400 Mg of ibuprofen daily just to be able to function thru the pain. Tried chiropractic, massage therapy, hot/ice therapy, modalities.

Objective: 10/12/11-MRI study of low back shows large 1cm disc herniation of L5-S1. I knew I wanted a lumbar disc specialist, and searched the internet. I knew I’d found the place for me when the website was www.sciatica.com and the name was DISC!! I called immediately.

Assessment: 10/13/11-Visit DISC with urgent appointment. Dr. Anthony Yeung recommends urgent discectomy to relieve the herniation and impending Cuada Equina syndrome.

10/14/11-Date of surgery, I was unable to walk (could not take Ibuprofen prior to surgery, so was completely disabled) and had to use a wheelchair to get into the surgery center.

Six hours later, I was waiting for my husband to get my chocolate milkshake at Baskin-Robbins!

Plan: My plan is to be forever grateful for Dr. Yeung and his wonderful staff for many reasons:

• Accommodating an urgent appointment within 15 hours from when I initially called! This was huge!!
• See Dr. Yeung at my appointment! I knew I didn’t have the stamina to go thru several visits to finally see the deciding physician, and I appreciate not going thru that hassle!
• Dr. Yeung — he immediately assessed my MRI films and without hesitation made a surgical room available for me the next day after assessing the Cauda Equina syndrome.
• Surgical Staff— everyone was wonderful., from the staff in the parking lot who noticed I couldn’t walk and ran to get a wheelchair, to the anesthesiologist (Dr. Thai!) who continually monitored my comfort level and after-surgery recovery. To Candy, who called afterwards to make sure my recovery at home was going well.
• But most of all, I’m so thankful for getting my active lifestyle back! Although I won’t be jumping on the mountain bike just yet, Tm hiking all trails and even starting to trail run again just 6 weeks after surgery- WITH ABSOLUTELY NO PAIN! My recovery therapy has been on my own — initially a little walking, then more walking, and then walk some more. Then I started Yoga on my IP AD at home so that I could alter the poses for my recovering back. This has been huge, I feel, and I try to practice 1-2 times per day. Then I tried my first hike around week 5, and my first light trail run at week 7 (one mile off and on).
• It literally brings me to tears to thank of my good fortune to find DISC and Dr. Yeung. I’m a young mother of 42 with an active husband and two active daughters that I feel I’ll still be able to keep up with thanks to Dr. Yeungs’ finely tuned surgical skills and expertise.

I am forever grateful, and although there is never a guarantee for the future when you lead an active lifestyle, I know exactly where to go, where to send my family and where to refer my friends!

- Mandy Machachek-Fellows
Phoenix, AZ