From Years of Pain to Years of Her Life Back

Spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease led Robyn Karp to suffer back pain for 15 years.

“I had epidurals and steroid shots over the years to deal with it,” she explains. “But when the numbness got so bad that I lost feeling in my feet, I knew it was time for surgery.”

Robyn’s ex-husband—a surgeon himself—previously had cervical spinal disease and received a fusion of vertebrate in his neck by Ziya Gokaslan, MD, who was practicing at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland at the time. Although she lived in Florida, Robyn knew she wanted care from the same world-renowned surgeon. She made the trip north to Rhode Island Hospital, where Dr. Gokaslan now serves as chief of neurosurgery and clinical director of the Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute, to undergo a laminectomy and fusion of her L4-L5 discs.

The procedure, meant to relieve pressure on the nerves and decrease numbness, pain, and weakness, was an instant success. “As soon as the surgery was done, I could feel my feet again,” Robyn says.

Robyn was then transferred to the Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center at Newport Hospital, where she received intensive, interdisciplinary rehabilitation. “They encouraged me to do my best and were genuinely concerned about my health and welfare,” she recalls. “The care was superb and exceeded every expectation I had for what a rehab facility should be!"

When it was time for Robyn to return to Florida, she was able to continue rehab at home and achieve a full recovery. After 15 years of back pain, Robyn looked forward to the years ahead of her—thanks to the Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute and Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center.