CHI - St. Joseph's Health - MN

S ome people see retirement as an opportunity to take it easy, but not Scotty Kyllonen. After 25 years of working as a physical therapy aide, Scotty, now 77 years old, finds plenty of things to keep her occupied, like visiting friends in the community or family in Scotland. "Scotty is a busy lady," says Sarah Luther, RN, CHI St. Joseph's Health Orthopedics & Spine Surgery Center Clinic Manager. "She's always out in the community doing things and is one of those people everyone knows." In 2012, severe pain in Scotty's back and right leg began to limit her mobility. At first, the exercises and treatments Scotty knew from her work as a physical therapy aide helped. When those steps alone were not enough, epidural steroid injections kept her going another three years. Unfortunately, all of those efforts eventually fell short. When Scotty's pain caused her to cancel a planned trip to Scotland—an unacceptable circumstance for her—she turned to CHI St. Joseph's Health for additional help. PAIN, PAIN, GO AWAY After hearing good things about the facility and staff at CHI St. Joseph's Health Orthopedics & Spine Surgery Center, Scotty decided to make an appointment to see what could be done about her pain. "When Scotty came to see me, we discovered that she had spondylolisthesis, meaning one vertebra shifted out of alignment with the vertebra directly below it," says Dr. Brennen Smith, CHI St. Joseph's Health orthopedic surgeon. "She also had spinal stenosis or narrowing in her spine. This combination was the root of her back and leg pain." Scotty's history with physical therapy and epidural shots made it clear surgery would be necessary. Spine Surgery— A Patient's Story When severe, chronic back pain began slowing Scotty Kyllonen down, she found a surgical solution. "I am walking and traveling the world, and the pain is nowhere to be found. I'm very grateful to Dr. Smith and his team." —SCOTTY KYLLONEN, CHI ST. JOSEPH'S HEALTH SPINE SURGERY PATIENT CHI St. Joseph's Health | www.CHISJH.org 4

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