Mr Bhupal Chitnavis 2016-12-11 Person 5 5 0

"We can be heroes" sang David Bowie and calling someone a hero seems to be an every day occurrence these days be it a sports person, TV personality, a politician or an actor, but the real heroes are people like Mr Chitnavis. People who enter your lives very fleetingly, but make such a big and lasting impression on you because, quite simply, what Mr Chitnavis did for me was to give me my husband back. My husband, Frank, had been diagnosed with sciatica many years ago and it used to rear its ugly head every now and again and with the help of gabapentin and such like it would go away again. This year it came back with such a vengeance that no amount of anti-inflammatory tablets or painkillers had any effect to the point where Frank literally couldn't walk 10 feet without having to stop and sit down because the pain was so bad. This had a huge effect on our social life because all of the activities we enjoyed doing - countryside and hill walking, going to the theatre, concerts and festivals were now out of the question. After many weeks our GP finally recommended Mr Chitnavis, who after Frank had described his condition, the pain and where it was accurately diagnosed him with stenosis. This was confirmed by a MRI scan and during the following consultation Mr Chitnavis laid out the options for Frank. The only viable option really was to have an operation even though there were so many risks involved. Mr Chitnavis was extremely kind and patient and took the time to thoroughly explain the procedure Frank would go through and what all of the potential risks were. This he did in a calm and professional manner. He was very open and honest about the operation and the aftercare that Frank would need. He encouraged us to ask questions and never made us feel as though we were taking up too much of his time. But this gave us complete confidence in his abilities. Frank had the operation just over 3 weeks ago and his post-op recuperation is going very well. During this time Mr Chitnavis has taken the time to telephone Frank and to see how he's doing. Frank has another visit scheduled in January and we are hoping that he will be discharged then. And then we are unlikely to ever see Mr Chitnavis again because he has done the job that he set out to do and the one that he told us he would do which would be to carry out the operation to the best of his ability and to do everything he possibly could to make Frank better. A doctor told us that "no-one in their right mind wants to have surgery on their spine" and this is true, but if you are ever in the unfortunate position of having to visit a neuro-surgeon then you are also very fortunate because you have Mr Chitnavis to go to and he will do all he can to make you better and to give you and your families your lives back. "We can be heroes" sang David Bowie, "Just for one day". This is not the case with Mr Chitnavis, he is a hero in the true sense of the word all day, every day.