Robin’s Story
Robin Shaw is from Elkins, West Virginia, an area that has produced numerous patients seeking relief at The Bonati Spine Institute. This influx of patients was started by Mike Ross, a former West Virginia state senator, Bonati Spine Institute patient, and advocate for The Bonati Spine Procedures.
Robin had been in constant pain for more than 20 years. She had spine surgery while in the military at another facility, but it was unsuccessful. Robin subsequently had a hard time standing up straight and when she tried it produced severe sciatic pain. An avid bowler, Robin found that she could only bowl one game because after that she would have trouble bending over to retrieve the ball. Her morphine pump and two kinds of painkillers were not working. Neither were the epidural steroid injections she underwent every four months. Her husband Matt remarked that “… watching her have pain in the hospital was difficult.”
Robin’s Video Review
A number of people in the Elkins area recommended that she visit The Bonati Spine Institute. She was a little nervous about asking her boss for time off to have surgery. But, her boss informed her that he had just returned from The Bonati Spine Institute where his wife underwent successful surgery.
“They’re professional but they’re friendly.”
Robin sent her MRI, and like all persons interested in The Bonati Spine Procedures, received a free MRI review by a surgeon. They drove to Hudson and found that “… everybody was really awesome. They’re professional but they’re friendly. Dr. Bonati looked at my MRI and then touched me on the leg and pointed out exactly where the pain was and where it was going.”
Dr. Bonati informed her that he would first operate on the area that was causing the most pain and that was all it took. The Bonati Spine Institute performs its surgeries incrementally, one level at a time, to avoid performing any unnecessary surgeries. One hour after surgery Robin stood up, felt greater strength in her legs and walked to her car. Her friends joked that she grew two inches because prior to surgery she would lean two inches lower, being unable to stand up straight.
Robin says that she is “walking proof that it works. I’m free of pain. I can walk. I can bend over. A lot of people from this area have gone down there. It’s like a network of friends.” Matt and Robin were able then to enjoy one of their favorite activities, attending University of West Virginia footballs games in Morgantown. Matt adds that he’s “… rarin’ to go so (he) can be pain free.”
In discussing the case Dr. Bonati added that “… the pathology of patients that we see is very diverse. Some are simple problems, some are complicated. Yet, we have such experience that we can usually correct the problems of patients that come to see us.”
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