Motorcycle Accident

After being hit by a car on my motorcycle at around 60 mpg, Dr. Shehadi and his staff put my broken neck back together.  Everything works thanks to Dr. Shehadi.  Many people I have talked to has said he is the best.  This includes my family doctor.  Thank you Dr. Shehadi for giving me my life back as a normal person.

Herniated Disk

“My name is Maria Ridgway. I have known Dr. Shehadi since 2002. Dr. Shehadi took care of my fiancée who had Melanoma cancer. Dr. Shehadi performed two successful brain surgeries on Shaun.

Two years later in 2004, I found out I had a herniated disc 5-6 in my cervical spine. The headaches were horrible. I contacted Dr. Shehadi to be assessed. He did an MRI. We tried physical therapy first but it did not help. It was determined that I needed a cervical neck fusion.

Who wouldn’t be scared facing spine surgery? No one in their right mind. From my past experience with my fiancée I knew the only neurosurgeon I would trust with such a surgery would be Dr. Shehadi.

The surgery was a success. I remember waking up and thanking God then Dr. Shehadi that I made it through the surgery. Dr. Shehadi said at that moment that he wasn’t alone in the surgery room. Before me stood one of the most talented neurosurgeons giving thanks to God. I will never forget that moment. After my surgery I was back to work in 6 weeks feeling great.

Fast forward to April 2016 and I find myself having neck issues again.

I knew immediately that I would contact Dr. Shehadi. I had called and scheduled an appointment with Dr. Shehadi to be assessed. They scheduled me a month out.

3 days later I could no longer take the pain from my neck and the pain in my shoulders shooting down into my arms. The pain was so intense that at times it made me nauseous. I had my husband take me to the emergency room. At the hospital I had an emergency MRI and found out that I had developed Cervical Stenosis in my 6-7 Disc in my Cervical Spine. 12 years later I found myself in need of a neurosurgeon again.

The emergency room called Dr. Shehadi. Even though I had not been seen yet at his office for my assessment Dr. Shehadi was quick to talk to the ER doctor. Dr. Shehadi had them treat my pain until I could get into his office. He had me call the office on Monday The office was able to get me in within 2 weeks. The staff is amazing and they care about their patients. We determined that I needed a cervical decompression surgery and cervical spine fusion.

I won’t lie I was nervous going into the surgery this time because it was more complicated. Dr. Shehadi assured me everything would be alright. He said it’s all about my attitude and I believe my faith in God. Dr. Shehadi did an amazing job. My surgery took 4 hours because of complications. Bone Spurs had wrapped around my metal plate covering my previous fusion in 2004. Dr. Shehadi used all of his tools and knowledge to get the plate off. He was successful and he was able to get to the 6-7 disc area to perform the de-compression and fusion.

I would not want any other neurosurgeon in that situation with me on the table other than Dr. Shehadi. His experience and talent is God given. Recovery took 10 weeks this time. I won’t lie their was some pain in the beginning and the first month was a challenge. But, with my faith in God and my family I was able to make it through it.

If you take anything from my testimony please remember that life is to short to live in pain and discomfort. I’m 3 months out of surgery and I feel great. I can sleep again at night and I no longer have shooting pain down my arms.

If you find yourself in need of a neurosurgeon I hope my testimony helps you make the right decision. Neurosurgeon Dr. Joseph Shehadi will always be my pick if I need a neurosurgeon.”

Cervical Fractures

“My name is Fred Lowery Jr., and I would like to share my life changing experience with you. July 16th, 2007 was literally the first day of the rest of my life, but little did I ever imagine the events that I would go through on that beautiful summer day.

My day started out as normal as everyday, I woke-up, went to work, then I went fishing for a little while. After fishing I was on my way to Columbus from my hometown of Delaware, when I was involved in a head on collision with another pick-up truck. I don’t remember anything about the accident, but I’ve been told and I’ve seen pictures and to be honest I, along with everyone else, still can’t believe that I am still alive.

I was flown by Med-Flight to Grant Medical Center and when my family arrived they were met by the Chaplin whom told them that I was alive, but that I may not make it, and that seemed to be the theme for many days after.

The physicians met with my family and explained to them about all my injuries. There were many breaks throughout my body such as a shattered hip, fractured pelvis and the most serious of all, I had broken two vertebra’s in my neck.

Dr. Shehadi explained to my family about the injury to my neck and the seriousness of the surgeries in which he was prepared to do. Upon speaking with him, my family felt very confident that Dr. Shehadi was indeed the one who was qualified to do so.

Well, after having the surgeries on my neck and three other surgeries on the rest of my injuries, I remember meeting Dr. Shehadi and the other surgeons. In my meetings with Dr. Shehadi and my follow-up appointments, I’ve come to have endless respect for him and I realize that Dr. Shehadi, along with countless prayers, is who saved my life and for that I feel as if I owe him my life.

This whole experience has truly changed my life forever and I thank God that Dr. Shehadi was called to do the job in which he has done.”

Cervical Herniated Disc

“In November of 2006 I was advised that I was in need of Spinal surgery on my C5 and C6 Vertebrae. I had an unknown previous injury to my neck and was dealing with chronic pain. Initially I was very nervous about undergoing this type of surgery. As you can imagine any type of surgery can be Scary. After meeting with Dr Shehadi I was reassured that this was the right choice for me. He was very kind and made sure that my comfort and well being would be the most important factor. The surgery went great and he proved that my comfort and well being was the most important factor. It has been 2 1/2 months since my surgery and I am doing better then ever. At my follow up visits some x-rays were done and it was amazing to see how precise his work was. Because of my experience and the way I was treated, I wanted to share my story with others to let them how professional and yet caring Dr Shehadi was to me. I would absolutely recommend Dr Shehadi to anyone in need of any type of spine surgery. I don’t believe that you could find better treatment by any other surgeon. Thanks Dr Shehadi for making me feel great!”

C2 Cervical Fractures

“On November 25th, 2006 my life would change forever. When I woke up that morning I had no idea that by the end of the day I would have been airlifted to Grant Medical Center where I would be fighting for my life.

I was putting some extra time in at my business like I did every Saturday. Around noon I left the shop to meet with a client. During my trip something went dramatically wrong. A malfunction in my vehicle sent my car spinning out of control. My car left the roadway and hit a concrete culvert. At this point I was ejected from the vehicle and flung through the air like a rag doll. I don’t remember much after this, as I was in and out of consciousness.

When I woke up enough to understand what had happened, it was three days later. It was at this time I was informed of the injuries I had received during the crash. My neck was broken (C1, C2), arm, shoulder, back, ribs, leg and ankle just to name a few. My wife was going over my injuries with me and it was then she informed me of the great Doctor that had spent so much time with her and my mother going over the possibilities for treating my broken neck. This was Doctor Shehadi. All though I did not remember meeting him up to this point, my wife and mother could not say enough good things about him. They told me that he sat with them and went over every aspect of treatment, and really made them feel at ease considering circumstances. Doctor Shehadi told my wife that an external fixation device (Halo) would be the easiest treatment, how ever he could operate, opening up my neck and placing a screw through the broken vertebrae. Dr. Shehadi explained to my wife that this surgery as risky, however he felt confident it would be a great success. My wife told me that after her conversation with Dr. Shehadi there was no doubt in her mind about his ability to perform this surgery.

I would like to say the surgery was a great success and now that I have gotten the chance to know Dr. Shehadi through my follow up appointments, I could not have asked for a better, more down to earth, and generally concerned Doctor.

I have been told by numerous Medical Professionals that most people that sustain this type of injury unfortunately do not live to talk about it, and if they do live they are usually paralyzed. I have made a full recovery and gladly say I have no pain nor negative affects from this procedure.

Thank you Doctor Shehadi for everything that you have done for me, and for the time that you spent with my family easing their minds. You are truly a gifted surgeon.”