Dear Dr. Bomback,
I am so sorry that this letter of thanks comes to you this late. You fixed my back so well, that I have been on the run! :)
I wanted to take a moment to share my sincere thanks for giving me my life back. I was 45 when we met, and I was in a state of extremely painful mobility. Walking hurt, sitting hurt, and people pulled out chairs for me when I entered the room. I felt my life had shifted from a position of being extremely athletic, Spartan Race competitor, to completely sedentary, hardly able to make across a parking lot without stopping at least twice.
By the time I met you, I had already been to several orthopedic physicians, had been receiving cortisone injections for over a year, was in physical therapy for many months, and had been referred to what I consider the last stop—the pain clinic. I was desperately seeking a solution that did not involve the long term placement on medications. So I began researching. When I found you, I was having difficulty walking, the pain was searing from my lower back right down my right leg, I was miserable and I was skeptical…that is until we started talking. You quickly knew from my records and exam what was going on and how to help me, an SI Joint Fusion. I think it took my less than 3 seconds to say yes to this, even though I was scared, I was so relieved and hopeful that my life could return to some normalcy and that someone was willing to at least try a measure that could potentially help me.
In December of 2016, just before Christmas, you performed the SI Joint Fusion. This surgery forever changed my life. Inside of that new year, I was able to return to the gym PAIN FREE, and I have remained pain free, active and alive again ever since. Maybe on a few occasions the weather reminds me with a few pinches of pain that I had surgery, but that is all. I work out four days per week, I have returned to racing (not to worry—no more Spartan races with military obstacles, my wall jumping days are over) , and I have returned to a state of lean fitness at my best weight ever. I haven’t felt this good in so many years, so its hard to express how grateful I am, and what this means to me.
None of this would have been possible without you, so I want to thank you for taking a chance on me. Thank you for not asking me to wait longer before I had surgery because I was “too young” (so many times I heard this), and thank you for giving me my life back!!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart Dr. B!
Shannon Abbotts