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Patient Stories
Diane Ferguson: “My doctor is my advocate”
Diane Ferguson moves through life on high speed — always running to serve, work and care for others. One evening she flew down the stairs in the dark. Toward the bottom of the staircase, she saw her cat sitting there and figured she was on the last step. She wasn’t. As she fell down the remaining steps, she felt her back shift.
“I was in pain, and for months no one could tell me what it was,” Diane said. “One doctor told me there was no way to do anything. He simply couldn’t fix it. I asked him, ‘Are you telling me I’m going to be crippled for the rest of my life?’ He just stared at me. I walked out of that office with tears streaming down my face.”
Then a friend recommended Diane see Dr. Kade Huntsman, a spine specialist at Salt Lake Orthopedics Clinic at St. Mark’s Hospital.
“There was such a difference between Dr. Huntsman and the first doctor. Dr. Huntsman had empathy and he became my advocate. In today’s sometimes cold world this should be commended … It’s nice to know people still care,” Diane said.
Dr. Huntsman performed a kyphoplasty, a minimally invasive procedure to inject adhesive into a fractured bone. After the procedure and a quick recovery, Diane returned to her full-speed-ahead mode. Diane says that life after back surgery looks different than before — in a good way.
“I feel amazing. I’m not in any pain. I’m at the gym, doing the elliptical, lifting weights and walking. I also realize I’m lucky to be upright. So, everything has changed for me. I’m slower. I’m holding on. I’m more conscious,”
Monty Andrus: “I can play pickleball again”
Monty is a patient who had a tremendous amount of back pain and leg pain for quite some time prior to surgery. He talked about being a very active individual who loved to golf play pickleball and hike. Prior to surgery, Monty was unable to do that because his pain was so severe so we used a high tech robotics platform to allow Dr. Huntsman to do a very minimally invasive surgery and help alleviate Monty’s pain postoperatively. He's done very very well and he's finally able to get out and play pickleball and enjoy life again
Michele Grow: “I’m finally walking pain-free”
Michele Grow usually looked forward to her 5-mile walk, but in a short span of weeks her body began revolting after walking less than half of a block. Pain would shoot down her back and radiate through her leg, settling in her right foot. Michele described the pain as consistent, unbearable and familiar. More than a decade before, she suffered a similar experience (though on the left side of her body); and that had resulted in back surgery.
"When I walked, the pain in my back and leg and the cramping in my foot felt so severe — and nothing would make it go away. Pain medicine couldn't even touch it," Michele said. Michele dealt with the progressive pain for more than 6 months, until she couldn't take it any longer. She knew she needed a physician's help.
Dr. Huntsman identified three herniated discs and an extremely pinched nerve, based on Michele's MRI. He recommended a lumbar fusion and decompression procedure, utilizing the Institute's innovative robot-assisted surgical system. Three months post-surgery, Michele can be seen walking around her neighborhood again. She's up to 1.5 miles now and she'll return to her career at Salt Lake Community College soon. She says she feels stronger, more confident and pain free.