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gary s.
In 2008, union carpenter Gary S. tripped over an electrical cord while carrying a roll of carpeting during a job assignment at McCormick Place. He got up and, ignoring the pain in his twisted back, finished the day and returned to work the next day. A day after that the pain was so excruciating that he called off work and took himself to St. Anthony’s ER.
“The ER doctor recommended I get an appointment with Dr. Nick Nenadovich,” he recalled. “As it turns out, that advice was better than the pain pills I went home with.” Dr. Nenadovich first tried non-surgical treatments but Gary’s legs continued to be numb and the pain was “a ten.” After more than a year of little progress, he opted for surgery. Gary now has six rods and three vertebra fused together in his lower back.
“One of the things I admire most about my doctor is that he was totally honest with me. He said ‘I can get you to where you’ll be able to tie your shoes.’ He never lied or misrepresented what I could expect the surgery would accomplish.”
He freely praises Dr. Nenadovich’s assistant, Renee, as well as First Advantage physical therapists Kevin and Stacy. Gary is also appreciative of Karen in the Workers Comp department. Since Gary’s union insurance carrier is based in Pennsylvania (where the laws are different than Illinois and Indiana) he says she’s had to continually fight for him.
After more than a year of physical therapy, Gary has accepted the fact that his carpentry career is in the past. On a good day, his pain level is “five;” it’s something he’s learned to live with. “I have to watch what I do, and I get stubborn and try to do too much sometimes,” he admits. “When I do something I shouldn’t, I pay,” he added.
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