Charlotte Threlkeld lived with excruciating back pain for years. It was caused by spinal stenosis. At one point, the pain was so severe she needed a wheelchair just to get around. When her surgeon at Mercy Health — Lourdes Hospital recommended a complex back procedure, she braced herself for a long, painful recovery.

What happened next surprised everyone—including her care team.

“I was told to expect severe pain for three days,” Charlotte says. “But when I woke up, it just wasn’t there. I was dreading the pain, but it never came. I never needed more than Tylenol.”

Her care team used the O-Arm—a 2D/3D imaging system. This new technology was made possible with donor support. The O-Arm provides surgeons with high-resolution images during surgical procedures. It helps improve accuracy, reduce complications, and often leads to faster recovery times. Charlotte couldn’t believe how easy her recovery was.

“I’m amazed at how smooth everything went,” she says. “The O-Arm played a role in that, and I’m just so grateful it was there. I’m especially grateful to the people who made it possible.”

Today, Charlotte is walking pain-free and enjoying life again. Thanks to donor generosity, patients like her are defying expectations. They recover faster with fewer complications and return to the lives they love much sooner.

“They told me I’d be in the hospital three days, and I went home in two,” she says. “I was elated to not have the pain I had braced myself for. All thanks to donors and the O-Arm!”