Ten years ago, Neli Morales’ life changed forever. She went from being an active grandmother and college student to being bound to a wheelchair due to a car accident that left her with severe leg pain. After many years of unsuccessful treatments, Neli finally got her life back on track thanks to Spinal Cord Stimulation.
Neli’s journey dates back to a chain of events starting ten years back that severely debilitated her. A few weeks after getting hurt at work, she was involved in a serious car accident that left her with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome – a condition that is caused by injury and results in complex regional pain that is much greater than what the injury caused. To make matters worse, Morales was involved in another car accident two years later that worsened her condition.
After visiting several pain specialists that thought the pain was all in her head, Morales found the Center for Pain Management. “As soon as I walked in and Dr. Chowdhury looked at me, I knew that he believed me,” said Morales. “I knew that he was going to help me. He took my hand and said ‘I’m going to do the best I can to get you walking. It’s going to be a slow process, but you will walk again.’ ”
Morales’ spinal stimulator was implanted around eight years ago, and she immediately began noticing major improvements. “I was slowly able to get out of the chair and was able to do more things. Now, I take care of my grandson, Julian. It’s a beautiful feeling being able to enjoy your grandchildren, take them to the museum, or even just go grocery shopping.”
Spinal stimulation therapy, also known as neurostimulation therapy, is an innovative therapy for people dealing with chronic leg and back pain. A medical device similar to a pacemaker is surgically implanted and sends electrical impulses to the area near the spine to interrupt pain messages before they ever reach the brain. It has proven to be very successful in reducing pain and allowing individuals to be able to perform their daily activities, while reducing the amount of oral medications needed.
For Neli Morales, the results have been very dramatic. “I am able to do 90% of the things that I was physically not able to do before the stimulator,” said Morales. She attributes a big part of her success to Dr. Chowdhury and the knowledgeable staff at Center for Pain Management.
The freestanding clinic is the oldest and most innovative pain management practice in the Rio Grande Valley. It has over 22 years of experience treating acute, chronic, post-operative, and cancer pain. By combining modern technology with a holistic approach, Center for Pain Management has been able to make a difference in the lives of patients, just like it did for Neli Morales.
The Center for Pain Management’s website features a video highlighting Mrs. Morales and her newfound level of activity. Watch here: http://cfpm.net/
