[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/09\/ncpa-spine-surgery-harold-ruch\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/09\/ncpa-spine-surgery-harold-ruch\/","headline":"Harold’s Story: How Spinal Surgery Relieved His Debilitating Back Pain","name":"Harold’s Story: How Spinal Surgery Relieved His Debilitating Back Pain","description":"

After struggling with back pain for years, Harold R. sought care from spinal surgeon Fadi Sweiss, MD, at UPMC Williamsport. After surgery, he has no more pain.<\/p>","datePublished":"2025-09-12","dateModified":"2025-10-30","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/neurosurgery-regions","name":"Neurosurgery","url":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/neurosurgery-regions","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/neurosurgery\/","parentOrganization":"UPMC"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"UPMC HealthBeat","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2229693357-e1757526429328.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2229693357-e1757526429328.jpg","height":866,"width":2000},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/09\/ncpa-spine-surgery-harold-ruch\/","about":["Health Topics A-Z","Neurosurgery and Brain Health","Spine Health"],"wordCount":973,"articleBody":"After more than three decades of back pain, Harold Ruch was ready for a solution.And though he wasn’t sure it was possible to become pain-free, that\u2019s exactly what happened.Harold, 60, of Williamsport, Pa., underwent spinal surgery in late fall 2023 with neurosurgeon Fadi Sweiss, MD, at the UPMC Neurological Institute in Williamsport.\u201cAfter he got done doing the surgery, I didn\u2019t hurt anymore,\u201d Harold says. \u201cI\u2019m back to walking.\u201cI still have, to this day, no more pain.\u201dA Deteriorating InjuryHarold first injured his back while on the job in the early 1990s. He worked with heavy machinery and suffered an injury to his back. Over the ensuing 32 years, the injury got progressively worse.\u201cAs things are breaking up and crumbling down, you start to feel pinches. I was getting nerve damage,\u201d Harold says. \u201cYou can imagine (what it looked like) after 32 years of abuse on an injury that was never taken care of or looked at.\u201dThe last eight years of that 32 were especially painful.\u201cI started out every morning with my eyes opening up at a level 8 on pain,\u201d Harold says. \u201cIt never went below an 8. I started out every day at that \u2014 my pain level was way out there.\u201dHarold\u2019s pain reached the point where daily tasks were a struggle. Although he continued to walk and do work around the house, the pain made it difficult. He says he could only walk 35 yards before needing to stop.\u201cIt finally got the best of me, to the point where about a year before I had my surgery, I was pretty much done with walking,\u201d Harold says. \u201cIt was really rough to do anything.\u201dWhen a friend died, Harold inherited their pug, Zeus \u2014 “he\u2019s 16, and I’m no spring chicken,\u201d Harold says \u2014 and that motivated him to get something done about his back.Harold initially didn’t plan to have his surgery at UPMC. However, someone he knew and respected recommended Dr. Sweiss.\u201cThey said, \u2018If I were in your shoes, I would have (Dr. Sweiss) do it. And that\u2019s the only person I\u2019d have touch me,\u2019\u201d Harold says.Getting Care at UPMCAfter getting the recommendation about Dr. Sweiss, Harold learned more about the neurosurgeon. And what he learned impressed him.Earlier in 2023, the Pennsylvania Medical Society had named Dr. Sweiss one of its \u201cTop 40 Physicians Under 40.\u201dHarold also heard that Dr. Sweiss got excellent results.\u201cFrom what I was understanding, he does not get bad reviews,\u201d Harold says. \u201cEverybody he touches loves his work. And they notice a big difference and big change.\u201dDr. Sweiss says Harold had extensive degenerative damage and misalignment in the lower portion of his lumbar (lower back) spine. These issues were causing the exit nerve channels to get narrow and nerves to become compressed.\u201c(He) had tried and failed multiple nonsurgical modalities without lasting relief, and his pain was significantly impacting his quality of life and activities of daily living,\u201d Dr. Sweiss says. \u201cWhile this was an elective surgery, the goal of surgery was to return some function and quality to his life.\u201dDr. Sweiss had an opening on his surgical schedule because of a cancellation. Harold took over the spot, even though it meant he had to speed through the presurgical process.\u201cI had doctor\u2019s appointments like you wouldn’t believe,\u201d he says. \u201cOne after another. Let’s face it \u2014 that’s something you don’t take lightly.\u201dOn the morning of his surgery, Harold had one question for Dr. Sweiss.\u201cI looked right at him and said, \u2018Not to be smart, but this has been 32 years. What makes you think you can fix it?\u2019\u201d Harold remembers.He’d soon get his answer.Pain-Free After SurgeryDr. Sweiss used a spacer to correct the misalignment in Harold’s lumbar spine and performed spinal fusion to stabilize the spine. He also decompressed the central canal and exiting nerves. The procedure took less than four hours.When he woke up, Harold felt no pain.\u201cThey kept an eye on me. They thought maybe I was still somewhat under the anesthesia, but no,\u201d he says. \u201cI actually took no pills, no pain medication while I was in the hospital.\u201dA day after the surgery, Harold was working with a physical therapist in the hospital.Living Pain-FreeAbout 18 months after his surgery, Harold no longer feels pain in his back. He says he has a full range of motion. He walks, kayaks, fishes, does yard work, and more.\u201cI can go for a walk anywhere I want, as long as I want,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t tire out.\u201dHarold says he has already recommended Dr. Sweiss to several people he knows.\u201cHe does very well,\u201d Harold says of Dr. Sweiss. \u201cHe\u2019s got an eye for detail. He\u2019s not in a hurry.\u201dDr. Sweiss says he\u2019s pleased to know that he helped Harold recover.\u201cStories and outcomes like this are why I do what I do,\u201d he says. \u201cFor Mr. Ruch, regaining mobility, daily function, and quality of life was his primary goal going into this, and I was privileged to be a part of his recovery story.\u201dHarold encourages people who are experiencing back pain to seek care at UPMC. He has nothing but good things to say about his surgeon.\u201cEverybody hears the negative side, but you don\u2019t hear the good side of things,\u201d Harold says. \u201cIf people out there have an issue with your back or your walking, go to UPMC and have them do a little workup on you and see what they can do.\u201d\u201cYou\u2019re liable to end up just like me: pain-free, able to walk, do what you want, and not be limited to, \u2018I wish I could do this, I wish I could do that.\u2019\u201dSources"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2025","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"09","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/\/09\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Harold’s Story: How Spinal Surgery Relieved His Debilitating Back Pain","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/09\/ncpa-spine-surgery-harold-ruch\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]