A Shot at Relief

For decades, Terry Smemo, 68, barely stood still. He could be found playing drums, landscaping his yard, photographing weddings, or building and flying high-power rockets. But when Terry began experiencing intense back pain, his busy lifestyle quickly became sedentary.

“I couldn’t stand, walk, bend or twist without experiencing excruciating pain from my mid-back down through my legs,” said Terry, who lives in Kansas City. “I couldn’t escape the pain. Sleeping was nearly impossible. I was miserable.”

At the beginning of 2023, Terry spoke with his primary care provider, Rozella Ranes, MD, a family medicine doctor with Meritas Health Gashland, about his back pain. Dr. Ranes referred him to Danish Zaidi, MD, an anesthesiologist with the North Kansas City Hospital Pain Clinic. Dr. Zaidi walked Terry through his treatment options, ranging from a conservative approach of physical therapy to more invasive options that included injections and surgery.

“Terry had been dealing with back pain for almost 10 years, which also led to weakness and numbness in his hips and legs,” Dr. Zaidi said. “He had tried physical therapy and medications before he came to the pain clinic. So, I thought it would be best to try injections around the spinal cord and lower back joints to help relieve his back and hip pain.”

Dr. Zaidi started with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test for a closer look at his spine. The MRI found that Terry had spinal stenosis, which occurs when spaces in the spine narrow, creating pressure on the spinal cord and nerves.

In July 2023, Terry received his first epidural steroid injection. The procedure typically requires the patient to lay flat on their stomach for an extended period, but Dr. Zaidi and Terry worked out an alternate way to deliver the injection.

“I couldn’t breathe laying on my stomach, and the small hole on the table for my face made me feel claustrophobic,” Terry said. “Dr. Zaidi was very patient with me and accepted all of my requests to slow the procedure down or take a break. I’ve never worked with such an empathetic doctor before. He made something very difficult much easier by listening and caring.”

From July 2023 through May 2024, Terry received four epidural steroid injections and one sacroiliac joint injection. The sacroiliac joint is where the spine connects to the pelvis which can cause lower back pain. For the procedure, the provider injects medicine directly into the joint to ease pain.

“I can’t thank Dr. Zaidi enough for being such an amazing doctor to work with,” Terry said. “I wish I had spoken up sooner. I’m so grateful for Dr. Zaidi and his care team for giving me back some mobility and relief from pain.”