J. Ronald Rich, M.D., F.A.C.S.

I had back surgery from Dr. Ronald Rich long before Unilocal existed. That said, I’m thrilled to be able to finally pay him back for the marvelous work he did on me at the end of 1991. I was in EXCRUCIATING pain from two ruptured discs, w/​pain running down both legs. He felt only one disc required surgery and, while i’d have liked to have the other disc «fixed» too, he must’ve had his reasons (healing would’ve been more problematic and lengthier, and the bulge wasn’t as bad). That said, after healing, I was able to walk, jog, swim, take dance lessons, and do yoga. Sure, I’ve had limitations and was never as flexible as the best in class-​ers, but that I could participate at all was terrific. Only once since then have I actually «thrown out my back» where you’re writhing in pain for 2 weeks. Those occurrences were MUCH more frequent before. Thank you, Dr. Rich!

To make a long story short… Dr. Rich performed an anterior cervical disc excision & fusion, and gave me back my life.
Cliffs: nightmarish pain, spinal stenosis, all symptoms were getting progressively worse, could not sleep, NO insurance, a real F-​ing mess.
Dr. Rich worked with me on the financial obligations, and was able to get his hospital to do the same.
Surgery was June 19, 2007. On that date I was a drug addicted, bloated mess, who slept a few hours each night if I was lucky. 60 days after the surgery, I was completely drug free, training again, sleeping like a normal person, and absolutely pain free. In the summer of 2008 I summited Mt Denali, ran a marathon in Death Valley and am absolutely as good as new (well, maybe not THAT good, but you know what I mean).
I can not thank Dr. Rich enough for what he did. I was almost out of options and was in a real real mess, and he quite simply gave me back my life. I’ll always consider him a friend.
Regards,
Thomas Edward Pheil
Los Angeles, California
Additional: During the (3) years that have passed since my surgery I have fallen several times while training, practicing the martial arts, climbing and mountaineering (once landing on the exact location of Dr. Rich’s work C3, C4 & C5 and being rendered unconscious for half an hour) «Ouch» that one really did sting. The titanium plates and screws that were placed inside my neck never moved a millimeter. What Dr. Rich fixes stays fixed.