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IT’S LIKE A MIRACLEBRAIN AND SPINE CENTER GETS BEDRIDDEN PATIENT

BACK ON HER FEET

SB Y A N D R E A M O N G L E R

FOR A FULL LISTING OF ST. LUKE’S CLASSES AND SPECIAL EVENTS, PLEASE VISIT WWW.STLUKES-STL.COM OR CALL 314-542-4848.

Shirley Bowling lovesleading an active life. Sheenjoys making quilts forher children and grand-children, reading and –most of all – working inher gardens. She’s alsothe regent of herDaughters of theAmerican Revolution(DAR) chapter.

A couple of years ago she did all thisand more without any problems. Butthen things changed.

Bowling, now 72, began to have back-aches. At first she might notice somepain at the end of a long day – when shewas doing the dishes, perhaps. But thenit got much worse, and it didn’t go away.

“The pain radiated from my spineinto my left hip, down my leg to myankle,” Bowling says. “It was absolutelyunbearable and intractable.”

Before she knew it, her active life had become a thing of the past.She couldn’t sit long enough to quiltor read. She wasn’t able to bend overor even pick up her eight-poundMaltese dog. She couldn’t walk. Shecouldn’t even clean her own house orchange the sheets on her bed.

“It affected everything in my life,”Bowling says. “The things that otherpeople take for granted were intoler-able for me. The most awful thingfor me was giving up gardening. Ihave beautiful gardens, but I couldno longer work in them.”

She spent almost all her time inbed. “I was almost an invalid,” shesays.

She had been doing some physi-cal therapy, but on its own it wasn’tgiving her any relief. She didn’tknow what to do.

Then she met with MichaelPolinsky, MD, a neurosurgeon at theBrain and Spine Center at St. Luke’sHospital. He suggested she see AnneChristopher, MD, a pain manage-ment specialist at the Center.

“My job is to combine interven-tional procedures as part of an over-all treatment plan, which can alsoinclude physical therapy andstrength training, to help alleviatethe patient’s pain,” Dr. Christophersays.

This is part of the Brain and SpineCenter’s unique approach – offeringpatients comprehensive care in onelocation. Neurosurgeons, neurolo-gists, physical medicine and rehabil-itation specialists, physical thera-pists and pain management special-ists work as a team to offer eachpatient the best possible treatmentplan. Because all these specialists arehoused under one roof, they assesspatients’ needs immediately and canconsult with one another simply bywalking down the hall.

In Bowling’s case, her pain wascaused by spinal stenosis, which is anarrowing of the canal where thenerves exiting the spinal cord run.The condition puts pressure on thenerves, causing pain. Both arthritisand disc degeneration were con-tributing to the stenosis.

Dr. Christopher first performed adiagnostic intervention to identifyprecisely where Bowling’s pain wascoming from. This involved a seriesof injections, known as nerveblocks, over the course of severalmonths.

“It can take a few shots before wehit the nail on the head and get themedicine in exactly the right placeto alleviate the pain,” she says.

It happened for Bowling back inSeptember. After the injection, shewas free from pain for six months –and then it was time for anothershot to control the pain again.

“To have relief is just wonderful.It’s like getting my life back,” shesays.

But she doesn’t manage her painwith the injections alone. As part ofthe Brain and Spine Center’s com-prehensive approach to pain man-agement, she also does strengthtraining and attends physical thera-py sessions at the center two orthree times a week.

“Shirley started strength trainingright away,” Dr. Christopher says.“It took her awhile to build up hercore strength, but now that she has,

with the nerve blocks, strengthtraining and physical therapy, she isable to manage her symptoms com-pletely without needing surgery.”

And that means Bowling can onceagain manage her own day-to-dayaffairs – and do the things she loves.

“I’m thrilled to death. It’s almostlike a miracle,” she says.

Bowling is grateful to the physi-cians and staff at the Brain andSpine Center for all the care shereceives there – care Dr. Christophersays patients would be hard-pressedto find anywhere else.

"The true collaborative nature ofthe Brain and Spine Center makes ita rare and wonderful place towork," Dr. Christopher says. "Icame here from another statebecause I felt that this is the bestway to care for patients."

Bowling says she hopes otherswith serious back pain will find outabout and visit the Brain and SpineCenter.

“I love everyone at the Centerdearly; they are so kind,” she says.“How could you not love peoplewho gave you your life back?”

Shirley Bowling owes her newly pain-free days to St. Luke’s Brain andSpine Center and Dr. Anne Christopher

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I GOT MY LIFE BACK

AB Y A N D R E A M O N G L E R

FOR A FULL LISTING OF ST. LUKE’S HEALTHY LIVING CLASSES AND SPECIAL EVENTS, PLEASE VISIT WWW.STLUKES-STL.COM OR CALL 314-542-4848.

Amy Benoist had suffered severe back painfor years. For so long, infact, that she couldn’tremember what it was liketo have a pain-free day.

But she lived with it – taking care ofher small children, exercising regularly,traveling with her husband – until itbecame unbearable.

“From the moment after I had my thirdchild, when I first stood up, I thought,‘Oh, dear,’” Amy says. The pain in herback, and even down her right leg, was sobad she could hardly take it anymore.

Amy, 38, has spondylolisthesis, whichoccurs when one vertebra slips forwardonto the adjacent vertebra, producing agradual deformity of the lower spine.

“She was born with some spinal prob-lems, and they got worse over time withthe normal bending, twisting, stress andstrain of everyday life,” says MichaelBoland, MD, a neurosurgeon at the Brainand Spine Center at St. Luke’s Hospital.“Eventually this led to nerve compressionand pain.”

After Amy’s third child was born, sheknew surgery was an option, but sheshied away. “I did not want to have sur-gery,” she says. “There is a prevalent nega-tive stigma associated with fusion sur-gery.”

BRAIN AND SPINE CENTER GIVES MOTHER OF THREERELIEF FROM EXCRUCIATING PAIN

But her options were running out.Over the past decade, she had triedepidurals, acupuncture, traction,self-medication and “what seemedlike every physical therapist in thecity.” Nothing eased the pain.

She experienced a turning pointwhile accompanying her husbandon a business trip to Hawaii thispast March. “I couldn’t walk alongthe beach without stopping everyfew minutes,” Amy says. “It was soembarrassing. I didn’t want to tellpeople, but I was screaming inside.”

Soon after, she took the advice ofher doctor and visited the Brainand Spine Center at St. Luke’s.

“In retrospect, I wonder why Iwaited so long,” Amy says.

The Brain and Spine Center pro-vides surgical and nonsurgicaltreatment options for neurologicaldiseases and nervous systeminjuries. The Center offers a uniqueapproach – offering patients com-prehensive care in one location.

Neurosurgeons, neurologists,physical medicine and rehabilita-tion specialists, physical therapists,and pain management specialistswork as a team to offer eachpatient the best possible treatmentplan. Because all these specialistsare housed under one roof, theyassess patients’ needs immediatelyand can consult with one anothersimply by walking down the hall.

“Generally we see patientsthrough referrals from friends andfamily who have been to the Brainand Spine Center for treatment orfrom primary care or other physi-cians,” Dr. Boland says.

After being referred to the center,Amy met with Dr. Boland, who rec-ommended posterior lumbar inter-body fusion. The procedureinvolves the removal of a discbetween two vertebrae in the lowerspine. Bone graft material is theninserted into the space where thedisc was removed, with the goal ofstimulating the two vertebrae togrow together. The primary aim isto get the pressure off of the nerveto eliminate the pain.

Although Amy was hesitant toundergo the procedure, she decid-ed it was necessary, and in June,Dr. Boland performed the surgery.

“She had a spinal fusion, but mostpeople do not need such major sur-gery. Most people can get away withmedical treatment or a less invasiveoperation,” Dr. Boland says.

At the Brain and Spine Center,Amy was in good hands. InOctober 2007, healthcare ratingsorganization HealthGrades™ ratedSt. Luke’s as the best hospital in theSt. Louis area for spine surgery. Inaddition, HealthGrades recognizedSt. Luke’s as one of America’s 50Best Hospitals® for 2007.

Amy says Dr. Boland and thestaff at the center did more thanshe could have hoped for to keepher comfortable and well-informedbefore and after her back opera-tion.

“Dr. Boland called me the daybefore the surgery and after thesurgery,” Amy says. “He gave mefacts and reassurances. He was veryavailable, very kind and veryapproachable.”

In the weeks immediately follow-ing the operation, Amy dealt withserious pain. But she followed Dr. Boland’s advice, walking almostimmediately – “at an incredibly slowpace,” but walking nonetheless.

“Dr. Boland wants you to move,”she says. “I listened to his advicelike it was the Gospel. I was so des-perate to make it work.”

And in Amy’s opinion, it workedwonderfully. She’s already able todo some of the activities she wasunable to do before the surgery.“I’m spinning again, lifting weights.I’m not running and skiing yet, butthere’s no reason to believe I won’tbe in the next couple of months.”

She’s enjoying life with her threechildren – ages 7, 5 and 2 – and herhusband, Patrick, who she says hasbeen incredibly supportive througheverything she has dealt with.

“The surgery has literallychanged her life; she can now pickher children up,” Dr. Boland says.

And her back pain is almostcompletely gone. “I haven’t takenpain medication in ages,” she says.“Before, I took it constantly.”

The recovery hasn’t always beeneasy, but Amy says she has noregrets about her decision toundergo the procedure. “I got mylife back.”

Since her surgery, Amy Benoist can pick up her children and do otheractivities her back pain had prevented.

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