I owe my good health today to Dr. Alfred Faust. In February 2022 I experienced painful sciatica after shoveling snow. I had never had any serious back problems before and had never had any reason to see an Orthopedic doctor. So I thought it would get better on its own, and after a few months living with varying levels of pain, I thought it was at least improving. But then one day in May I suddenly felt strange numbness spreading through my lower body. That's when I first realized that something might be very wrong. But I had no idea who to call. I found Dr. Faust online and when I explained my problem over the phone, his staff was able to schedule me to see him that day. Dr. Faust identified right away the symptoms of cauda equina syndrome and he explained to me that I likely needed immediate emergency medical intervention or risk suffering permanent nerve damage. This could have been terrifying, especially since I had never had a serious medical problem before, never had surgery before, and I had just walked into Dr. Faust's office and met him for the first time less than an hour earlier. But he talked me through everything, what needed to be done and what to expect. His expertise, composure, clarity, and empathy for my situation gave me confidence that I had found the right doctor and I could trust him to do everything to get me to the best outcome. He arranged for an emergency MRI that evening and after the results confirmed the need for urgent lumbar discectomy, he scheduled the surgery for first thing the next morning. Right up to the moment I went into the operating room, he talked me through the process which did so much to help me keep my fear and panic in check. The surgery went great. Afterwards, at every follow-up evaluation, we talked about my recovery and he always answered every question and discussed my concerns. I've had time to reflect back on this past year and I truly believe that things would have gone much differently and my quality of life would not be what it is right now if I had not had the good fortune to find Dr. Faust and walk into his examination room on that critical day.