My name is Hector Rivera, and I live outside Manhattan with my family. I’m 44, and I work in the city as an operating engineer. My employer is responsible for maintaining the heating and cooling systems in high rises within the city. I’ve been with the company for years, and it’s a job I love. While I am committed to my job, I am a family man first. I got married in 2003, and it is still the best decision I ever made. My wife is my best friend. We’ve been together a long time, but she still makes my heart flutter.
My wife and I have two children. Mateo is seven, and he’s full of energy. He channels that energy to get better at Jujitsu. He’s also starting to become a good basketball player. I love practicing with him. Our daughter, Ciara, is four. She’s my princess. Although she’s a budding ballerina, she also likes to get outside and explore. She’s especially fond of her bike, and I spend hours chasing her around the neighborhood while she rides.
In my free time, I try to stay active. I love sports. I like watching them on the television, and I am always up for a pickup game. Working out is important to me, and it keeps me fit enough to stay on my motorcycle. I also enjoy tinkering with engines. I particularly enjoy working on classic cars, and it is satisfying to rehabilitate a damaged engine and bring it back to life.
Sometimes, I identify with those engines. After all, I know what it’s like to be broken seemingly beyond repair. I know what it’s like to turn the key and just have nothing start. I know because for years my life was crippled by chronic pain.
My job often requires going up and down ladders in order to inspect equipment and machinery. I’ve climbed countless ladders, but I missed a step on my way back down this time. I ended up on the floor.
At first, I didn’t think it was that bad. All my other mishaps were easy enough to get through. Surely, this one would be the same. My back hurt, but I figured it would go away. It didn’t
After two weeks of excruciating pain, I finally had back surgery. Shortly after that, I had another procedure. These two surgeries were discectomies. In the fall, my L4 and L5 discs were damaged. The discectomies removed the damaged portions in order to eliminate the pain.
I was optimistic going into the surgeries. I had to be. After suffering for two weeks, I was ready for any kind of reprieve. However, the recovery was much harder than I expected. It took me a long time to get my mobility back, and the lingering pain from the surgery wasn’t abating as expected. As the physical toll started to mount, the emotional toll caught up with me.
Within weeks, I wasn’t feeling much better. In fact, I was feeling worse. I no longer wanted to get out of bed. Going to work left me exhausted. When I got home, I didn’t want to play with my kids or go out with my wife.
I withdrew from life. I gained 60 pounds. This went on for years. My pain was chronic now, and it had redefined my life. Within several years, I was a shell of the man I used to be. The pain affected my job performance, and it put a strain on my family.
Finally, my wife had an idea. She had heard about the Discseel® Procedure. I was hesitant about this procedure as I did not get the results I expected from my two prior surgeries and I didn’t think I wanted another one. She begged me to check it out, and I’m really glad I did.
As it turned out, a Discseel® Procedure is completely different. Hearing the doctor explain how it worked, I couldn’t believe it. The procedure was fast and minimally invasive. The doctor projected that I’d be back on my feet and at work in a week.
“I was skeptical, but I was also desperate. I agreed to the procedure. That decision saved my life.”
The procedure went exactly as expected. As anticipated, I was back at work within a week. That’s not the part that matters, though. The thing that matters is that the surgery gave me back my life.
The pain was gone. I was able to start living normally again. All the activities I had given up, I was able to try again. Within months, I was playing with my kids in the yard. I was working out and riding my motorcycle. I even took my wife salsa dancing for the first time in years.
The Discseel® Procedure didn’t just fix my back. The procedure fixed my life. Most people go into a back surgery hoping for some mobility back. I came out and got my life back. I will never be able to express how grateful I am to Discseel® for the second chance it has given me and my family.
If you suffer as I did, then do not wait. The Discseel® Procedure. I know what it is to suffer from chronic back pain. See if Discseel® can give you back your life today.