Esther Frantz
Take me to Alaska Regional Hospital:
Where genuine care and advanced technology give hope, comfort and life
Twenty years ago, Esther Frantz arrived at Alaska Regional Hospital’s emergency room with a broken back. Five fractured vertebras nearly cost Esther her legs. The accident led to many surgeries and changed her life forever. Thanks to innovative surgeries, Esther was able to walk again, but the effects of the gruesome motorcycle crash filled the next nearly 20 years with debilitating pain.
“My pain ranged from minimally bearable to spirit-crushing. I wasn’t sure if I could keep my job. All my vacation days were used as pain days,” Esther said. “I’ve always hated opioids, so I did everything I could to deal with the pain without them – yoga, dance, saunas, massage, you name it. I even have a therapist to help me manage my pain emotionally and mentally … but doing everything I could just wasn’t enough.”
Enlisting a medical expert in pain management
Esther’s therapist eventually referred her to Dr. Larry Kropp, an innovative pain medicine specialist with Alaska Regional Hospital. He was willing to try a host of treatment methods to help Esther.
“Dr. Kropp performed minimally invasive treatments that didn’t involve pills. We went through each level of therapy until my body didn’t react to it. We started with steroid injections, then moved to spinal blocks, then radiofrequency ablation and then cryoablation,” Esther said.
Through the years of pain management treatments, Esther gripped onto a single thought that kept her hoping for a long-term solution:
“If I could hold on long enough and not do any more damage, then science and medicine would come along,” Esther said. “That thought gave me hope. Hope is the most important thing with chronic pain … and we kept going and hoping until the technology actually came along and saved me.”
Technology advancements open the gate to the future with less pain
Esther’s pain stemmed from damaged nerves overproducing and sending abnormal pain signals to the brain.
When Dr. Kropp learned of exciting advancements in spinal cord stimulation technology, he thought of Esther. This technology involves a small device placed inside the body that delivers gentle electrical pulses to block pain signals and calm the nerves. The FDA-approved treatment option offers high-frequency and low-frequency programming that can be personalized for each patient. Plus, each patient receives a remote control to adjust the pulses as needed throughout the day.
“The technology had an exciting software breakthrough, and Dr. Kropp felt like it was time to move forward,” Esther said. When Dr. Kropp explained it to her, she felt confident in trying this new approach to managing her pain. “I’ve learned to trust my provider in expanding my ability to heal. He has never given up on me – which is incredibly powerful – but this seemed too good to be true.”
Choosing an advanced hospital for advanced care
Dr. Kropp coordinated care with Dr. Samuel Waller, the surgeon at Alaska Regional Hospital who performed a laminectomy (a procedure to remove a portion of vertebrae) for Esther and carefully placed the spinal cord stimulator device and its associated wires that run up her spine.
“There was a lot riding on this,” Esther said. “On the day of surgery, I channeled as much hope and optimism as possible. When I arrived at the hospital, I felt compassion from the whole team. I knew I was safe and that they really cared about me. They treated me with such gentleness that I was able to relax. All I had to do was communicate and breathe. When I woke up [from the surgery], the staff and surgeon were there, and I got this blast of love and optimism, and it just continued. From the time I arrived to the time I went home, I was well taken care of.”
Upgrading life: From surviving to thriving
Esther recently celebrated the one-year mark of receiving her spinal cord implant. She calls it her “Upgrade Day,” as she has experienced a life upgrade from barely surviving to more fully thriving.
With her central nervous system soothed by the device’s pulses, Esther can function more fully. She’s able to work longer hours with little to no pain, her brain can pay attention to taking care of other parts of her body instead of being dominated by back pain signals, and she’s able to enjoy the little things in life. She even took a vacation and flew on an airplane to see family in Colorado (something she hadn’t done in years!).
“Everything is possible again. I’m able to be more mobile. I have days where I have 90 to 95 percent relief! I notice that I’m able to recover from other colds or injuries faster. My health is changing for the better. It’s incredible!” Esther said.
Words of wisdom for those experiencing chronic pain
From where Esther stands now on her chronic pain path, she offers a few words of wisdom for those in the trenches of suffering:
“Hope is your best friend. Cultivate it. Allow yourself to believe that there’s going to be an end to the torment. Hope and trust are the two most important things I learned on this journey. You’re not alone. People do care,” Esther said. “I am so thankful Dr. Kropp told me Alaska Regional Hospital was the right place and had the right people who’d care for me. Damn, was he right. Now that I’ve been at Alaska Regional, I’d go back there for anything.”
