The surgery that Dr. Melamed did was on the L3-L4. I was a herniated disc. And I’m a pretty avid amateur tennis player, and I play three times a week. I’ve had doctors in the past tell me that all I have to do is stop playing tennis and I’d be much better, that I wouldn’t have all the issues that I’ve had over my life with my feet and my back and other places. And certainly Dr. Melamed, who has really taken time to make me just feel like I’m okay, I can go do what I want to do.
I’m a tennis player, and I all of a sudden couldn’t get out of bed without falling over. This was my second dealing with back pain. The first one was a herniated disc, which I didn’t need surgery for. This one, evidently, when I came in to see Dr. Melamed, who had been referred, I had excruciating pain and basically couldn’t walk.
I had a couple of issues beside my pain. I even had to be at a family reunion in a little over a week. And as part of the discussion we had, and the fact that I needed surgery, I had also mentioned to Dr. Melamed that, as silly as it sounded, this family reunion had been planned for over a year, and I certainly didn’t want to miss it, but obviously needed to do something about my back. And Dr. Melamed said, don’t worry, I’ll get you in for the surgery right away, which normally you can’t get in in a couple of days, which you did for me, which I really appreciated, and had me on an airplane in less than 10 days to go to the family reunion.
The surgery that Dr. Melamed did was on the L3-L4. I was a herniated disc. And I’m a pretty avid amateur tennis player, and I play three times a week. I’m 69 years old and you’ve always been in reasonably good shape. But as Dr. Melamed told me, there definitely was a herniation and it really needed to be taken care of. And I was nervous about it, not so much from the surgery, but the aftermath is how long would it be to like to get back and play tennis and be active.
And after the surgery, I started doing my physical therapy that Dr. Melamed and his staff had recommended, to go to a physical therapist, and within about a seven month period I was actually back playing tennis full time. And, and I certainly appreciate that from Dr. Melamed and Michael and his staff. They’ve always been super nice to me.
I’ve had a couple of issues since the surgery with my back, because I’m so active, flaring up, and whenever I do, they reassure me. They’ve taken several MRIs just to make sure that nothing’s changed. I can’t imagine, even if I happen to move out of Southern California, that anybody would touch my back, and certainly Dr. Melamed, who has really taken time to make me just feel like I’m okay, I can go do what I want to do.
And I’ve had doctors in the past tell me that all I have to do is stop playing tennis and I’d be much better, that I wouldn’t have all the issues that I’ve had over my life with my feet and my back and other places. And the, the method of operation appears to be [inaudible] is not to stop doing what you’re doing, but to find ways to be able to do it again quicker, faster, and better, so that you can continue doing the things that, that you want to do.
Without the doctors like Dr. Melamed, I can’t imagine what I would be doing if somebody told me that my, my activity life was over, especially my tennis life. So, you know, I’m really indebted to them for what they’ve, what they’ve done for me and for my family, and kept me active. And whether Dr. Melamed likes it or not, he’s going to be stuck with me hopefully for a long time.
