Angela’s Story: ‘I Have Gotten All The Feeling Back’

When Angela Perrine was unable to feel her arms, hands, feet, and stomach, she knew something was seriously wrong, and she couldn’t go on.

“I didn’t feel safe on my own two feet, just standing there. It got scary because I didn’t know what was going on,” says Perrine, a Huber Heights resident.

She initially had extensive pain in her neck. When taking a drink or leaning her head back, pain shot down her spine.

As her condition worsened, she couldn’t hold a pen or her fork, frequently dropping things. Finally, she was forced to leave her job as a customer service representative at age 44.

Angela underwent a nerve test and then an MRI after telling Samantha Loel, her nurse practitioner in Vandalia, what was happening.

The MRI led to a referral to Daniel Quinones, MD, orthopedic spine surgeon, and Andrew Schneider, MD, a general neuro surgeon, with Premier Health.

Angela was diagnosed with cervical myelopathy, a degenerative disease in which the spinal cord is compressed in the neck. The recommended surgery: anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, or ACDF.

Angela weighed the pros and cons before agreeing to the surgery, which took place June 7 at Miami Valley Hospital.

When she woke up, her daughter, Brooklyn Robinson, quickly rubbed her once numb arm.

“I could feel it. It was very emotional. They had told me that feeling might not come back,” Angela recalls.

Her husband, Dan, was very supportive of her, too, every step of this journey, she says.

Several weeks following surgery, Angela said she felt great.

“So far, so good. I have gotten all the feeling back and everything,” she says.

Recovery can take up to 18 months or more, but Angela is pleased so far with her decision and the relief provided by Dr. Quinones and Dr. Schneider.

“I was in more pain before the surgery than on the day after surgery,” she says.

Her doctors shared with her the surgery’s potential risks, including that it might not improve her condition.

“I could have walked away and said, no. I did it and I don’t regret it at all,” Angela says. “I didn’t want to live that way for the rest of my life. I didn’t have much of a life anyway. I went through a lot in a short period of time.

“I am just thankful they figured out what was going on, and they did it relatively quickly,” she says. “I put my faith in Dr. Schneider and Dr. Quinones. They were amazing.”