Best. Coffee. Ever.

When I gave birth to my son, it seemed like a lightning bolt had ripped through my back. From that day on, my right side was in excruciating pain, from my butt to my foot. It felt like I had been hit by a car. Between managing my new bundle of joy and managing my new nightmare of pain, life was an incredible challenge. We were often both screaming at the same time! 

I went to a series of doctors in Florida, where we live, and in New York City. I ran through more than 40 different medications. I was told to see a psychiatrist and to read a book about living with pain. 

My mother-in-law has always praised Cleveland Clinic, so I made an appointment and booked a flight. The team in Cleveland couldn’t understand how I had physically gotten there. They found what others had missed: During labor, part of my L4 vertebra¹ had broken off and crushed the nerves on the right side of my body. I ended up having a laminectomy² and a microdiscectomy³. 

It was a tough recovery, but within a month, I was able to walk a mile to get a cup of coffee. It felt like a victory. I even took pictures. Best cup of coffee I ever had. 

A few weeks later, I went to a wedding and danced for the first time in over a year. I can dance. I can work out. I can lift my son and do all of the things that moms do, without either of us crying. Thanks to Cleveland Clinic, I got my happy ending. 

One year after her surgery, Pamela Granoff Simon resumed doing silks, a workout that involves aerial acrobatics. “You’re using every part of your body,” she says. “It’s probably one of the most physically challenging things you can do.”