Chronic Pain Testimonials
Theresa Hesse
In May of 1992, Theresa Hesse’s life came to painful halt when she injured her back while trying to place a piece of luggage under a passenger’s seat. Theresa was a flight attendant and the mother of a two-year-old daughter, which gave her a very active lifestyle. After her injury, she could no longer enjoy activities such as skiing, biking or riding on roller coasters with her daughter. “The pain was terrible. It radiated down my right leg, and my lower back was in extreme pain,” she said. “I could barely move.”
Before coming to Texas Back Institute, Theresa sought the advice of her employer’s doctor and began physical therapy. However, it only intensified her pain. “I was told nothing could be done for me, and I would have to live with the pain.”
Six months later, a colleague referred Theresa to Dr. Cable at the Texas Back Institute, and began hydrotherapy and “work hardening,” which is a technique used to help an employee readjust to a job’s physical demands. “Dr. Cable was concerned for me, and he helped me fight worker’s compensation for treatment.”
Theresa underwent her first fusion and a hardwire removal in 1995 and finally, a 360-degree fusion in 1996. “It truly helped me walk again,” she said. In 2006, Theresa went through Texas Back Institute’s CoPE program, which helps patients learn emotional control and pain-coping strategies. “The CoPE program changed me,” she said. “I still have some pain, but I have ways to fight it more effectively now.”
“My back is not healed, but I do have a great future ahead of me,” she said. “I’m active in my children’s lives, all their activities and I started a peer support group for patients suffering from chronic pain. Now I find joy in every day, because I know I have something to live for, not just something to live with.”
Terry Marek
Terry Marek injured her back in 1994 and began treatment with Texas Back Institute (TBI) in 1995. Terry was treated with various non-surgical treatments before considering different surgical options, including a 360° lumbar fusion and a spinal cord stimulator.
When her doctor at TBI referred her to CoPE (Conquering Pain Effectively), a chronic pain management program, she was less than enthusiastic about attending. Terry has neuropathy and numbness in her feet, which makes driving very difficult. “I wasn’t sure I would even be able to drive myself to and from Plano, and the thought of working out in a gym twice a day frightened me,” she said. “I didn’t know what that entailed.” Terry was concerned about the impact the exercise would have on her other medical conditions, which increased her anxiety about the CoPE program.
A good part of her days before CoPE was spent between her bed and her recliner. “I have not worked since October 2006, and have been living off of my Social Security Disability and State of Texas Disability Retirement. To me the CoPE program was frightening, since it would mean another change in my lifestyle,” she said.
After much persuasion from Dr. Andrew Block and his team, Terry agreed to attend CoPE in January 2008. She was less than thrilled to be there, since she didn’t see how “sitting around in a classroom talking to a bunch of strangers” was going to help her.
On her first day, Terry asked one of the counselors if one of them or one of the doctors had undergone back surgery and might really understand how she felt and what she was going through. The answer was yes.
By the end of the first week, Terry started coming around. “These ‘strangers’ were becoming my friends, and they knew exactly how I felt and what I was going through,” she said. In the gym, there were stretches and exercises tailored just for her and her problems. “It didn’t take me long to figure out that the staff really cared about me,” Terry said. “What I liked the most was how all the staff was on the same page; they worked together toward a common goal.”
Terry’s family and friends noticed a difference in just the first weekend she was home. Her stamina had improved dramatically, as had her frame of mind. “My pain level was down, and my other health problems had actually gone away,” she said. “I would recommend the program to anyone. Give it a chance! You get out of it what you put into it. I kept telling the staff I wanted to graduate in three weeks. Truth is, I would have stayed another two weeks!”