Barbara Calvert: Well, I'm the one who mows the lawn at my house.
Melissa Madeline: For 67-year-old Barbara Calvert, mowing isn't a chore. It's something she waited decades to do.
Barbara Calvert: I'm not able to always get the lawn mower started or wasn't before, because of the pulling and the pressure.
Melissa Madeline: It's a condition that usually happens to seniors, but Barbara struggled with bladder control problems since her 20s.
Barbara Calvert: To me, that was just a normal part of having had two children.
Melissa Madeline: It stopped being normal when she started feeling like a prisoner in her own home.
Barbara Calvert: It was kind of; do I really want to go to this event tonight?
Melissa Madeline: For years, Barbara resisted surgery.
Barbara Calvert: And I decided against that because of the amount of pain and the down time, I'm losing anywhere from two to six weeks of work and not being able to pick up the grandchildren.
Melissa Madeline: Traditional surgeries are done in the O.R. and leave behind sutures and pieces of mesh or other material.
Dr. David Jacob: They are foreign objects, and some people don't tolerate foreign objects, and they can be rejected.
Melissa Madeline: In a new surgery, doctors use radiofrequency to tighten muscles around the bladder, no incisions required.
Dr. David Jacob: Under local anesthesia done in the office and generally takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
Melissa Madeline: Patients see results in two to four months. It's the solution Barbara had waited years for.
Barbara Calvert: Finished the procedure, came and sat at my desk in the office, started answering the phones.
Melissa Madeline: Now she spends her free time the way she wants to.
Barbara Calvert: It's changed my whole life completely.
Melissa Madeline: Enjoying the small things, and looking forward to a worry-free future I'm a Melissa Madeline reporting.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services