My Comeback Story: Laura S.

I had an old injury that would occasionally flare up over a 10-year period. It was no big deal until it suddenly was.

At the end of July 2025, after months of physical therapy and chiropractic treatment, my back became so bad that I could no longer stand up straight. The pain was unbearable. I teach swimming, mostly to kids, and one Saturday morning in August, the parent of one of my students noticed how much pain I was in and that I couldn't stand upright. She asked if I was okay and whether I'd seen a doctor. Long story short, Cassandra Tang, the physician assistant who worked for Dr. Landry, got me an appointment for the following Tuesday. Best decision ever.

Dr. Landry told me to continue with physical therapy and suggested an epidural steroid injection. I loved was that he didn't try to push surgery on me; however, the pain only got worse. Nothing was helping—not the injections, the steroids, or PT. Eventually, I was literally crawling because the pain shooting down my leg was so intense and causing numbness. I finally told Dr. Landry I didn't want any more temporary fixes since they weren't working anyway, and that's when he said surgery was the permanent solution.

We scheduled the surgery for November 20, 2025. I still had over a month to wait. I couldn't do anything for myself and was miserable and in constant pain. It was an agonizing waiting game.

When surgery day finally arrived, I was nervous but calm. Dr. Landry and his staff had prepared me exceptionally well with high-quality pre-operative guidance. After surgery, as I was waking up, I was determined to go home that same day and was prepared to do whatever was needed. About an hour after surgery, I stood up straight—and the pain in my back and leg was completely gone. My mother even said, "I forgot how tall you were!" I walked up and down the hallway and was released to go home. The very next day, I was out walking a mile—a quarter mile at a time at first, but I was walking. Don't take the small things in life for granted.

I'm now three months post-op and walking two miles on some days, but at least a mile every day. I still have a little way to go before I'm back up to full speed, but I've followed all their recommendations, even when I'm chomping at the bit to return to my very active lifestyle. I love scuba diving, family beach photography, paddleboarding, chasing my grandkids, and more.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Dr. Landry, PA Tang, and the entire staff at Orthopaedic Associates for giving me my life back. You are all a godsend, and I pray blessings over each of you. And Dr. Landry, thank you for not pushing surgery on me right away, even though that's exactly what I needed. Much love to you all ❤️ Sincerely, Laura Shields. The scuba diving, kid-chasing swim coach.