Steven’s Microdiscectomy Patient Story
Prior to contacting Dr. Girardi’s office, I tried my regular stretching and yoga, then advanced to consulting a local orthopedic surgeon friend and a back/pain management physician out of desperation, followed by weeks of PT with endless icing and nightly TENS unit sessions lying on the floor. I am/was a VERY active person and had gotten to the point where it would bring me near tears just to drive short distances. Feeling confident I was a surgical candidate, my local ortho strongly suggested I contact HSS, specifically Dr. Girardi.
Before getting to my surgical experience, I would be remiss if I did not give immense praise to Dr. Girardi’s surgical scheduler, Rena Kaplan. Within one day of my contacting HSS, Rena called me shortly before 9:00 PM on a Thursday evening, recognizing the pain and despair in my voicemail and making an effort to get us scheduled to see Dr. Girardi that upcoming Monday morning. We were back and forth on the phone that evening until nearly 10 PM—beyond impressive.
On to my surgical experience: I could not have been more impressed at every single touchpoint with HSS. Every call, every personal contact, every text, every email, and every person from pre-op through six months post-op was exceptional. Dr. Girardi himself was the most calming and reassuring physician I have ever met, including those in my own family. He assured me I would be able to do everything I had prior to my back injury with no limitations—he was 100% correct.
I am doing incredibly well. I am back to long-distance bicycle riding and racing, long-distance running, weight training, mountain biking, hiking, and mountain climbing, all without any limitation or pain. I am forever indebted to Dr. Girardi and his team. In September 2025—nine months post-op—I was back to racing LoToJa, a 207-mile one-day classic bike race starting in downtown Logan, Utah, and ending at Teton Village in Jackson Hole, WY. In October 2025, I returned to climbing—a trip postponed from the prior October due to my back—completing the “chimney” and knife-edge on Mt. Katahdin, Maine’s highest and most technical mountain. For 2026, I will be racing two to three 70.3 Half-Ironman distance triathlons, with hopes of qualifying once again for the World Championships in Nice, France. I will also be racing two Xterra off-road mountain bike triathlons, with the goal of qualifying for the 2026 World Championships in Ruidoso, New Mexico—something I have not done in almost 20 years.
I am attaching a finish line photo crossing with five teammates at the 2025 LoToJa 207-mile bike race from Logan, UT to Jackson Hole, WY in early September, along with a few photos from my Mt. Katahdin climbing trip in early October.
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