I am Terrie Dustin, a 63 year old woman, who first contacted Dr. Carlson in 2014 with intense low back pain and intermittent numbness from the waist down. At the time, I was the sole caregiver for my 94 year old mother who had ALZ and I was becoming less and less able to care for her. The spasms in my back were unpredictable as to their severity and duration, so it created an unsafe condition for both my mother and myself.
Dr. Carlson met with me and was very honest and open about my options. He advised physical therapy as a first course of action to help relieve some of the pain and to determine the correct surgical procedure. He and a wonderful team of nurses and therapists helped me through the last 4 months of my mother’s life and then when she had passed away, I was able to have a spine fusion to repair discs L4 & L5 and to address my degenerative discs and osteoarthritis.
The change in my life has been wonderful! My back issues had originally been caused by two incidents as a child and young adult so to have finally found relief after 30 years of spasmodic pain was a dream come true. I couldn’t be more satisfied with the quality and professionalism of everyone associated with my care. I would recommend Dr. Carlson and his team as the best possible choice for anyone in our area. The Orthopaedic & Spine Center and Mary Immaculate Surgical Center were beyond my highest hopes, and I will be forever grateful.
Most Sincerely,
Teresa Dustin
2016