Surgery for peripheral neuropathy restores Youngstown woman's life

YOUNGSTOWN

Numbness, tingling, excruciating shooting pains and a burning sensation ... all symptoms of an often disabling condition called peripheral neuropathy.

“My feet feel like they are on fire,” said one sufferer.

Frances Cox of Youngstown, a waitress who spends long hours on her feet on the job, said the onset of neuropathy in both feet made it impossible to stand, let alone walk and work.

“It was even difficult to sleep. It was to the point that my husband, Albert III “Butch,” had to literally pick me up from work and carry me to the car. My husband and children, Allen and Albert IV, have been so helpful. I don’t think I could have made it without them, putting up with my anger and crying,” Cox said.

She said she soaked her feet in ice to relieve the burning, but as soon as she lifted them out of the ice, the pain was back. “There were times I thought I was going to have to start living off drugs,” she said.

And then she found relief.

Read about the surgery that gave her back her life in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.