LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- Real men love their recliners, but when that luxury item becomes a royal pain, a man's got to get out of his big chair and into a gown.
As Craig O'Neill shows us, that was the case of Robert Stroope.
X-rays show six screws and two rods installed in Stroope's back.
“I couldn’t stand, couldn't sit, couldn't lay down flat, couldn't walk for more than 10 or 15 minutes without just excruciating pain on both my legs and both my feet and the lower part of my back,” said Stroope.
The pain was so bad, he only worked seven months over a four year span, and for an active man this was tough to take.
Robert's painful path eventually led him Dr. Justin Seale at St. Vincent's Spine Center.
“He'd had part of a fusion done and we tested it and found the fusion never healed and he had screws that were loose,” said Dr. Seale.
This is where the six screws and two rods came in. Robert instinctively knew he needed it.
Dr. Seale shared with THV11 that almost immediately Robert felt better. And then there came a dramatic moment involving the simplest task.
“Day four I was able to put my socks on by myself.”
It has been three months since the operations, and now Robert has become a model of a man who takes control of his own comeback through physical therapy.
“He had to put in hours and hours of work himself to get where he is today. Those patients that put that work in do so much better,” said Dr. Seale.
“There are some things I'm not gonna be able to do again and some things I can do just not as well and for not as long. My big deal is getting back in my kayak and getting back on the Buffalo.”
A bad back with a happy ending. For or a happy beginning, Dr. Seale has a recipe: exercise.
“It's simple. Get a pair of shoes and shorts and go.”
And don't be afraid to put on the gown.