Alissa Barthelemy

During my senior year of high school I had been diagnosed with compartment syndrome in both of my legs. I had surgery to release the pressure on my right in January 2015 and my left leg in April 2015. After the surgery on my right leg, I felt immediate relief. The pain, numbness and tingling sensation during exercise went away. Unfortunately, after the surgery on my left leg, my symptoms did not get better, in fact they got worse. I no longer had feeling in my left leg from the knee down, but was experiencing a lot of pain. The doctors I saw did their best, but did not know how to treat me anymore. I lost hope. I felt as if I was going to be in pain for the rest of my life. At 18 years old, I never thought I would be able to run and workout pain-free again. After a friend recommended going to Hospital for Special Surgery, I started to see hope again. I saw an amazing orthopedist that referred me to another doctor that would help treat my nerve damage. Eventually I was referred to Dr. Kramskiy. All of the doctors were amazing. He re-tested me for compartment syndrome and redid all of the tests I had previously to determine where the pain was coming from. After redoing the tests Dr. Kramskiy found permanent damage to the saphenous nerve. He was determined to help relieve the pain. With an understanding of what the cause of my pain was, it was all about the plan of action. Dr. Kramskiy started with treatments he thought would work best, but would be the least invasive. The treatments worked short term, but there was not any long term relief. That is when the neuromodulation implant became the next step. The insurance company was extremely difficult to work with. They denied the treatment time and time again. Elizabeth and Christie working in Dr. Kramskiy's office were absolutely amazing. Without their help it would have been impossible to appeal the insurance company. They were patient, kind and understanding of everything going on. After many months of fighting with the insurance, it was finally time to be pain-free. Dr. Kramskiy paid attention every detail. I could not have felt more comfortable to be in his care. Alongside Dr. Kramskiy, the representative for the neuromodulation implant from St. Jude’s was and still is supportive of my care, the function of the implant and how it has positively impacted my life. Since having the neuromodulator implant, I have been able to live an active lifestyle. I am able to run and workout pain-free, something I never thought I would be able to do again. I even completed my first Spartan race! I am so thankful for Dr. Kramskiy, his staff, and the representative from St. Jude’s for helping me through this process.