'I Will Fix You': Spine Center Provides Hope and Healing
As a mom and an accomplished cancer surgeon who spends hours a day on her feet, Kimberly Resnick, MD, admits she was no stranger to back pain.
But when that nagging back pain turned into something more serious – a slipped disc in her spine – her active lifestyle came to a full stop.
"I was a crazy Peloton person and then doing nothing – overnight," Dr. Resnick says. "I felt like I was 90. I couldn't do anything with my kids. I constantly looked angry, and I was angry – all the time. It was so depressing."
As a busy surgeon, she knew a spinal fusion – which would require significant downtime – was likely in her future.
Biding her time, she opted for 12 injections. All 12 failed. Physical therapy and and the chiropractor didn’t help either.
“One night, I was crying in bed and decided I was done,” Dr. Resnick says.
Soon she scheduled her procedure with Jonathon Belding, MD, from The MetroHealth Spine Center. A spinal fusion permanently connects two or more vertebrae in your spine. It’s used to eliminate painful motion between vertebrae that can result from a degenerated or injured disk. Metal plates, screws and rods may be used to hold the vertebrae together, so they can heal as one solid unit.
"He was always upfront with me," she says. "He had my expectations in the right place. And he also told me 'I will fix you'. That was all I needed to hear."
Dr. Belding was specific in his directions. He told her the healing of bone to metal would take time and that she just had to be patient so she could eventually get back to work. She listened to the doctor's orders, and at six weeks, "I walked. That was it."
And just like that, the pain she experienced every day for the past three years was gone.
"Everybody at work said, 'Your face looks softer and you're not walking with a limp,' says Dr. Resnick.
And for the first time in a long time, Dr. Resnick could be the mother she longed to be for her children.
"We took my son to the beach and I could run and play with him in the water," she says. "It's so amazing to have my life back."
MetroHealth's Spine Center's surgeons, specialists and therapists are leaders in the treatment of back, neck and spine problems, disorders, and injuries. To schedule an appointment, call 216-778-3700 or request an appointment online at metrohealth.org/spine.
Founded in 1837, MetroHealth is leading the way to a healthier you and a healthier community through service, teaching, discovery, and teamwork. Cuyahoga County’s public, safety-net hospital system, MetroHealth meets people where they are, providing care through five hospitals, four emergency departments and more than 20 health centers. Each day, our nearly 9,000 employees focus on providing our community with equitable healthcare — through patient-focused research, access to care, and support services — that seeks to eradicate health disparities rooted in systematic barriers. For more information, visit metrohealth.org.
