William DiVitto

William Divitto had been having hip and back pain for three years, since a back surgery he had failed to fix the problems he was having. But in September 2016, the pain started to become debilitating. "I was seeing pain management doctors to try to get a handle on the pain. The solutions they gave would last a month or so, and then I'd be back in even more pain," recalls Divitto.

After Thanksgiving when he couldn't walk without the help of a walker, he told his wife he was ready to look into a surgical solution. "I was barely walking. I couldn't sit or stand or sleep."

Divitto and his wife asked friends and neighbors for recommendations, and kept hearing the name Dr. Andrew Shaw at Ocala Health Neurosurgical Group. "From the first person I spoke with, there was a calm confidence about everyone there that was really appealing to me," he remembers. "And when I met Dr. Shaw the following week, he was young, but confident, and there's just something about him everyone likes. He saw how much pain I was in, and scheduled me for surgery the next week."

In the six weeks following his surgery, William Divitto hasn't felt any pain like he experienced before. Dr. Shaw was able to fix screws that were broken from his previous surgery, and repaired a degenerated disc in Divitto's spine. "He did such a great job. Not only did he repair problems that were there before, he really fixed me up for the future as well," says Divitto of his surgeon.

Divitto credits his new pain-free life to Dr. Shaw and the nurses and staff at Ocala Health. "I'm going to be 74 and now I feel like I'm 40. I can work in the yard. I can do anything. I can almost run! I really just can't hug them enough. I would definitely recommend them to anyone."