For 30 years, Elise Roby walked a mail route. Then one morning in March, she couldn’t take a single step.
“I can’t walk, I can’t move. I rarely cry from pain. I cried the month of March. I cried in April and I thought, my life is done.”
Roby is one of five winners selected from applicants who entered “Pain Free 4 Free,” a contest run in April by The Nerve & Disc Institute, a sponsor of Live in the D. The contest invited viewers living with chronic pain to submit their stories for a chance to receive free treatment. Roby is the first winner to be profiled.
Years of physical demands as a mail carrier had taken a cumulative toll on Roby’s spine, but those issues were pushed aside after a serious knee injury required multiple surgeries. The back pain went untreated - until it stopped her in her tracks.
“I stepped down and I just jumped back. And I’m like, what in the world? And the pain had me totally debilitated where I literally could not walk. I had to hop to go anywhere and hold on to things to get from one place to another,” she said.
Roby found Dr. Sol Cogan at The Nerve & Disc Institute but initially left without committing to treatment, convinced she couldn’t afford it.
“I actually walked away like, okay, it’s a good idea, but I’m not going to be able to do it. And then he called me and said, I’m going to help you. We’re going to gift you one of the slots for the contest,” she recalled.
The call changed everything. Roby said the moment she sat down with Cogan, her outlook shifted.
“I felt life coming back. I felt desire coming back, and my will to live came back.”
The therapy targets irritated nerves and pressure around damaged discs. Roby said results came quickly.
“It’s like a rubber band. If you’re stretching it, and then when it comes back, it’s not as tight as it was. So, each treatment, that’s how I feel. It’s like I can feel the pressure coming off of the disc.”
Just a month into treatment, she was back at the grocery store on her own — and, against doctor’s orders, pushing a lawn mower.
“I can walk. I can go in the supermarket and get my own groceries. He told me not to do it, but I cut my own lawn.”
And she has her eyes on a bigger milestone: returning to a beloved pair of heels.
“I love shoes, and I’m like talking to my stilettos now. I’m like, oh, I will be wearing you again soon, soon, soon.”
Dr. Cogan said Roby’s story hit close to home.
“She’s my age, right? She worked as a public servant basically for 30 years, and she did it for her retirement. And within 2 months of her retirement, her life fell apart. And she had been managing it for years, and she got to the point she couldn’t even walk,” Dr. Cogan said. “When I read her story, I was like, I’m gonna help her.”
Dr. Cogan said the contest was driven by his own experience with pain and a desire to offer patients an alternative to surgery.
“I’ve had that pain. I’ve felt that pain and I know that feeling. I believe that people need to know there’s an alternative to surgery. And we see people that are told that they need surgery all the time get better every day.”
As of his most recent visit with Roby, Dr. Cogan said she was 75% better. He cautioned against expecting a complete cure but said the improvement speaks for itself.
“Little changes can make an enormous impact in someone’s life,” he said. “There’s nothing worse than chronic pain.”
Roby is still continuing treatment. Live in the D will profile other contest winners as their journeys progress.
If you’d like more information - or to schedule an appointment - visit NerveDiscInstitute.com.