Like a Dream, But Real

You would be hard pressed to find someone who thinks that living with chronic pain is a good thing. It causes undue physical suffering, prevents you from doing the things you love most, and can take a significant emotional toll as well. In fact, it’s really no stretch to say that living with chronic pain is, by virtually all accounts, a bad thing. And bad things are made all the worse when they happen to good people.

Jayson Rogers is just such a good person. He had pretty much everything going his way until chronic back pain threw him off course.

But luckily, an encounter with Twin Cities Pain Clinic provided a solution that would right the ship and put him back on track.

Meet Jayson

Jayson is the quintessential Minnesota family man. He was born and raised in the north metro and graduated from Mounds View High School. His wife, Tracy, is also from the Twin Cities and together they have three children.

Walker went to Augsburg College to be a Physician Assistant. Wyatt studies sports management at Mankato State University, where he also plays baseball under a scholarship. Brynn also goes to Mankato State, where she is studying the be a nurse. Pretty impressive family resume, right?

To provide for his impressive family, Jayson worked in landscaping for 15 years. It was the perfect job for Jayson because he loved being outside and active. When not landscaping, Jayson always preferred to be golfing, fishing, watching his kids play sports, and just spending time outdoors with his family. Life was grand!

But then one day, that all started to change.

The Pain Creeps In

It all started in the early years of the new millennium when a minor car accident left Jayson with nagging back soreness.

“The pain came on slowly,” Jayson recalls. “It was so minor at first, I figured it was just routine soreness from the physical nature of my job. So, I brushed it off and pushed through it.”

Unfortunately, there was something more serious at work. After several years of “pushing through it,” Jayson’s back pain got worse and worse. It got to the point where he had to quit landscaping and find a job that was less physically demanding. He ultimately took a job as a sales rep with a commercial printing company, and while he did well there, he always wished he could go back to landscaping.

Finally, the pain got bad enough that Jayson decided to get looked at. A good thing too, because it turns out Jayson had disc degeneration in his L3, L4, and L5 vertebrae. The days of “pushing through the pain” were over.

“It wasn’t long before my back pain really started to take a toll on my life,” Jayson said. “Eventually, I couldn’t golf anymore and my back hurt too much to sit in a fishing boat for any amount of time.”

“I just felt so defeated. I started to become lethargic and didn’t want to do anything anymore, and I gained a lot of weight as a result. But when it got so bad that I needed pain killers to cope with everyday life, I knew I had to find a better solution. That was a road I had no intention of going down.”

Luckily, Jayson chose to take a different road instead.

Something Bold, Something New

In an effort to get his pain under control and his life back on track, Jayson underwent a series of treatments. But sometimes, chronic pain can be extra stubborn, and no matter how many therapies and procedures he tried, Jayson could not find adequate pain relief.

After every other option was exhausted, Jayson was referred to Twin Cities Pain Clinic, where he saw Dr. Anne Kokayeff. Dr. K mentioned one thing that Jayson had not yet tried – an intrathecal pump implant.

The intrathecal pump, developed and produced by Medtronic, is a device that is implanted under the patient’s skin. The pump delivers carefully controlled doses of pain medication, via small tubes, to the intrathecal space in the patient’s spine, providing consistent and long-lasting pain relief. This form of direct drug delivery requires far smaller doses than oral opiates, making it equally effective while avoiding the potential side-effects of opioid medication.

“I had not heard of an intrathecal pump before,” says Jayson. “But I was ready to try just about anything to control my pain. After learning a bit more about the therapy, I said ‘you’re the boss doc, let’s do what you think is best.’”

They decided to go ahead and try the pump.

Back to Life

After a perfectly successful procedure, Jayson walked out of the surgery center a changed man.

“Immediately after I came out of recovery, I felt nothing. No pain at all,” said Jayson. “I was kind of at a loss for words. After 20 years of pain, I finally felt normal again. My family and I were all pretty emotional about it all,” he added with a chuckle.

Now on the other side of his pain, Jayson is feeling as well as ever.

“Finally, I can go back out and enjoy life,” Jayson raves. “I can go golfing and fishing again. I am walking every day, and I have even lost 20 pounds and lowered by blood pressure since the procedure. This pump is truly amazing. It is so versatile and there are no side effects. I love it.”

“Speaking of which, I love the professional team at Twin Cities Pain Clinic as well,” Jayson added. “They are the best at what they do and went so far above and beyond to help me. Words can’t express my gratitude to them. Really, to think about where I was and where I am now, it’s like a revelation. It’s like a dream, except it’s real.”

Learn more about the intrathecal pump.

To schedule a consultation online, CLICK HERE, or call (952) 841-2345.

The content and patient quotes in this testimonial story describe true personal experiences, reflecting real life stories from an individual who was treated at Twin Cities Pain Clinic. This story is for informational purposes only and should not be considered typical of all patients’ results. Individual experiences may vary, and Twin Cities Pain Clinic cannot guarantee specific outcomes. The subject of this story contributed of their own free will and was not provided any monetary renumeration in exchange for their participation. This testimonial story does not constitute medical advice and you should consult a healthcare professional for medical diagnoses and treatment recommendations.