Meet Ronald. One year ago he started having pain in his right leg that ran from his buttocks down the length of his leg. At first, Ronald paid little attention to it, assuming he just pulled a muscle or over exerted himself. As the pain increased, he used a heating pad to help relieve the pain. "The pain never went away and in fact kept getting worse," recalled Ronald.

He decided to see a chiropractor, hoping to find some relief. His initial visits helped, but he soon became frustrated when the pain came back. The chiropractor suggested Ronald see his family physician and get an MRI.

Ronald took the chiropractor's advice and made an appointment to see his family physician who concluded that he did have a problem with his sciatic nerve. Ronald's physician suggested he see a spine specialist.

Around this time, Ronald met a member of the CCSI staff who suggested he come see Dr. Frey. By this time, all Ronald cared about was getting relief from the pain. "I was so frustrated with the pain. It never really went away. The pain medications I was taking were no longer working and I needed stronger drugs to find relief," he explained.

It turned out that Ronald had a ruptured disc at L4-L5 with severe nerve compression. "I don't know how this happened. I do not recall any specific injury. But I guess a lot of wear and tear on my back finally took its toll."

Ronald was extremely nervous about the possibility of needing surgery. "But when I met Dr. Frey, he explained his philosophy of not only treating a person's spinal condition, but helping them have a healthy spine for life through physical therapy and exercises. He emphasized that surgery was only done if necessary." Ronald was very happy that Dr. Frey suggested he try some non-surgical treatments first to see if they might help. In fact, the steroid injection therapy helped quite a bit, but soon the pain came back.

"As I got to know Dr. Frey and the staff at CCSI, I realized that these people really cared about me. I always felt very comfortable and well cared for." When Dr. Frey suggested that surgery might be the best answer, Ronald was confident that he was getting the best care possible.

In September 2002, Ronald had a L4-L5 laminectomy using the latest, state of the art, minimally invasive, endoscopic technology . "I asked Dr. Frey lots of questions about the procedure; I wanted to know exactly what they were going to do. By the time I had my surgery, I felt I really knew everything I needed to know about the procedure, which helped me feel less nervous about the whole thing," Ronald recalled.

When Ronald woke up from the surgery, he said it was like a miracle "The pain that had taken over my life and was such a major source of frustration for me, was gone!"

Ronald was up and moving around the same day of his surgery and went home the next day. "My recovery was great. The therapists gave me some exercises to do and as soon as my incision was healed I started them. I still do them every morning when I get up."

Today, Ronald has full use of his leg and is totally pain free. "It has been a great blessing for me. Just a few months ago, my wife had to help me put my on my socks and shoes, the pain was that bad. Since my surgery, I am now able to do all the things I want to do. Thank you Dr. Frey for giving me my life back."