Katheleen Demas is no stranger to recovering from back surgery. In fact, if you ask her, she’ll tell you she’s become entirely too familiar. After each procedure, Kathleen worked hard to regain her strength and manage her pain. However, her most recent surgery — her fifth overall and third in just over a year — proved to be the most challenging yet.
For many years, David Chavez struggled with back pain. Seven years following an initial surgery, doctors presented David with the option of another procedure. This surgery, though major, offered the potential to decrease his pain by 75% while also giving him a high probability of walking without an assistive device. David couldn’t refuse such impressive odds and decided to proceed.
Greg Tanner works as the clinical director at a local substance abuse facility. For some time, Greg has experienced sciatic nerve pain in one of his legs. The pain progressively got worse and eventually affected both legs. Chalking it up to “wear-and-tear,” Greg assumed it would resolve itself with time and rest.
But Greg was mistaken.
Christian was so excited to be back on his board that he soon found himself going a bit too fast. Finding himself too far to the left, where the shade hid the ice and bumps, Christian attempted to correct his position. Unfortunately, he slipped and took a horrible tumble down the mountain. His fiance soon came upon him lying on the ground, his face and back bloody. Scariest of all, Christian couldn’t feel or move his legs.
Both Sam and Rob feared the worst when they saw David’s body lying motionless in the ditch. They repeatedly called his name, but received no response. “I remember opening my eyes and hearing my name being called,” David noted. “Then I feared that I was paralyzed – I couldn’t feel anything below my hips.”
One day, Baldomero’s life took a sudden change of course. He fell at home, injuring his spine. Baldomero wouldn’t be the same again.
