Conditions + Treatments
Degenerative Disc Disease
Spine Injury/Condition
By the time I got to see Dr. Andrew Cordover, I had already been to 3 or 4 other doctors who all either misdiagnosed me or did not offer any help or solutions to my back pain.
My main problem with getting help was my age. I was being discriminated against because I was young and the whole "you're too young to be in this much pain," "there's nothing wrong with you," "this kid is a drug seeker" (not once did I ever ask for pain medication, I actually despise taking pills, I simply wanted an answer and a solution).
I started going to the doctor about 4 years ago when the pain initially started. At that time I was 25 years old. I had countless x-rays in which the doctors either told me they were negative and nothing was wrong with me, or I was also told I had a stress fracture and they wanted to stick a huge needle in my back for a pain shot (believe me I walked out).
I dealt with pain for 4 years until I finally got to the point where simple every day functions (brushing teeth, washing hands, sitting down, standing up, bending over, reaching up, sleeping, etc;) were absolutely impossible for me to do. I finally got in to see Dr. Cordover after I had turned 29 years old.
Dr. Cordover was a Godsend. He was proactive in finding out what was wrong with my back. I got an MRI done which revealed I had a degenerating disc at L5-S1. Since I had already done physical therapy in the past and it didn't help, he suggested doing the back block to see if I could get any relief. He told me about the surgery procedure he could do to fix it, said he felt confident that he could fix me and get me back to normal life, but left the ball in my court. It was my call on surgery. Not once did he ever pressure me into a decision. So I did the back block and got zero relief from it. So we knew then that the surgery was the best option.
Dr. Cordover was patient, kind, he made me feel comfortable and taken care of. I had my surgery in June 2018 and when I woke up in my hospital room after the surgery, I had ZERO back pain. My back is totally healed!
I am currently 4 months post op and I feel great. I still have a few months more of recovery, but I can confidently tell you that I feel like a normal human being again! Dr. Cordover treated me with such respect, genuine concern, and care. I truly consider him a friend.
I started running again about 3 weeks ago and my goal is to run a half marathon by late next year AND get back out on the soccer field! I've been an athlete my whole life. I played soccer from the time I was 5 years old all the way through college. So being inactive is NOT an option for me! Dr. Cordover gave me my life back!!!
