Spinal Surgery Offers Mobility and Relief
When Kelli Eakle, a certified medical assistant at Seattle Children's, woke up one morning in June 2023, she knew something was wrong.
She felt a radiating pain in her left leg and buttock, and at first wondered if she had slept wrong. When the pain didn't go away, Kelli tried at-home remedies like ice, heat and over-the-counter medication. But the pain persisted, and she sought help from her longtime primary care doctor, Kimberly Liu, DO, at EvergreenHealth Primary Care, Redmond Bella Bottega. An MRI showed a herniated disc in Kelli's lower back.
Starting with a conservative approach, Kelli did three months of physical therapy and at-home exercises. Next, she received spinal injections at EvergreenHealth Sport & Spine Care, which can often bring relief to patients with herniated discs.
Despite her diligence, she saw very little improvement, and her quality of life was declining. At that point, Kelli met with neurosurgeon Ryder Gwinn, MD, to discuss spinal surgery.
"My appointment with Dr. Gwinn gave me hope," Kelli said. "He was very knowledgeable, and after looking at my MRI, he knew that it was something he could fix with surgery. I decided to move forward with surgery, feeling confident in his expertise and knowing I was in good hands."
Finding Relief
Dr. Gwinn determined that Kelli's symptoms were consistent with what he was seeing on her MRI, developed a surgical plan to address the herniated disc and her pain.
Kelli had surgery on February 28, 2024. She was excited about feeling better, but felt nervous on the day of the procedure. She met with Dr. Gwinn and Jenny Harbers, PA-C, before the procedure. "They were able to calm my nerves and I felt at ease."
The procedure, a hemilaminectomy and microdiscectomy, is a minimally invasive procedure that removed the small piece of the patient's spinal disc that is pressing into the nerve root.
After the procedure, Kelli felt immediate relief. "I walked out of there the next day feeling like a new woman," she said.
Dr. Gwinn credits all of the work the EvergreenHealth team leading up to and during the procedure for its success. "Kelli's early physical therapy and spinal injections, while they didn't provide lasting relief, were helpful to ensure that we were looking at the right spot for her treatment. The surgery was very straightforward, and her recovery was very fast," he said.
Today, Kelli no longer feels the pain that debilitated her for months. After two surgical follow-ups to confirm she is on the road to recovery, Kelli reports she feels 99.9% better.
"Each and every person that I came into contact with at EvergreenHealth has been nothing but amazing, caring, knowledgeable and very kind to me," Kelli said. "I am so thankful that I can get back to walking my dogs with no pain, sitting down in a chair to read, playing with my grandson, going on family vacations, caring for my own patients at work, and just having a normal life."
