Guadalupe Sordo

Now, Lupita's back at work on En Confianza, her Mexican TV talk show. Here, she interviews a regular segment contributor.

Lupita Sordo is always on the move. As the host of En Confianza ("In Confidence"), a popular television talk show in Mexico, she's at the spinning hub of culture, interviewing leading figures in sports, politics, and entertainment.

"I've been in the television business since I was very young," Lupita says, "and I love it. You get to learn many different things, and you get to meet interesting and important people. Of course, it takes many, many hours of work to produce just one hour of television."

Those many work hours require Lupita to be on her feet a lot. So it was disconcerting when, in 2001, Lupita began experiencing aches in her right leg, especially when she walked or stood for long periods.

Although at first the aches were not much more than a tingling sensation, similar to when your leg falls asleep, over the course of many months Lupita's problem developed into something more serious. "It became very painful," she says, "and difficult to do everyday things. Eventually I could walk only a few steps, and it seemed at every moment that the pain got worse."

Lupita's doctor in Acapulco felt the problem was sciatica, or pressure on the sciatic nerve that runs from the lower back down the back of each leg, caused by a disc in her spine that may have slipped out of position. "He showed me the tomography scan he used to make the diagnosis," Lupita recalls, "but I didn't feel certain."

Lupita decided to travel to Mexico City to see a specialist. He conducted further tests, including an MRI (magnetic resonance image), scan, and finally suggested treatments including exercise and wearing a prosthetic device under her foot to help relieve the pressure on her leg. "He told me not to walk anymore, so that my legs wouldn't have to support my weight," she says.

To Lupita, that answer was unacceptable. "I was very disappointed, and very scared. The pain was getting worse, and I wondered, what am I going to do? What other doctor can I see?"

By the spring of 2003, Lupita was hardly able to walk at all. She was limited to taking only two or three steps, from her bed to the bathroom and back. "I had to stop working," she says, "because the pain was too much."

Then one of Lupita's cousins suggested she seek treatment at Mayo Clinic. Her cousin had been successfully treated for prostate cancer by Mayo physicians, despite being told by doctors at home that the cancer was aggressive and inoperable.

"I felt sure that everything my cousin told me was the truth," Lupita says, "but there was one problem: I was afraid that treatment outside of Mexico might be expensive. I'm 67 years old, and I support myself. But then another cousin gave me some very wise advice. She said, 'It's better that you spend the money now to walk and be self-sufficient, than to use it later to pay someone to push your wheelchair.'

"I thought, 'How true.' And the decision was made. I told my sons that I was going to Mayo Clinic."

Recovering Her Health

Lupita's cousin gave her the phone numbers for Mila Vargas and Dr. Beatriz Argueta, International Patient Coordinators at the Alberto Bailleres International Patients Center at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. From the first phone call, Mayo's international services team works to provide specialized service and support for international patients and their families who are planning their visit to Mayo Clinic.

"They are heroes for everyone who lives outside the United States," Lupita says. "I can speak in my language, and feel almost as if I'm in my own country, in my own home."

Mila and Dr. Argueta helped Lupita schedule appointments with the appropriate physicians, as well as coordinate her arrival in Phoenix — more than 1,400 miles from Acapulco. By this time, Lupita was in a wheelchair. "I felt that God took me by my hand and led me to Mayo Clinic," she says. "I was in the best hands in the world."

Once at Mayo, Lupita met with Dr. Richard Zimmerman, a physician and surgeon in the Department of Neurological Surgery. Although Mayo provides translation services, Lupita's oldest son, who accompanied her to the clinic, helped her understand in Spanish Dr. Zimmerman's explanation of the diagnosis and treatment options. According to Dr. Zimmerman, Lupita's MRI scan clearly showed that she suffered from lumbar stenosis, or arthritis of the spine.

The spinal canal is a closed, "O"-shaped space, with the nerves running inside. Normally the nerves have adequate room, but in patients with lumbar stenosis, the nerves become pinched. Just as common arthritis can cause the knuckles of the hands to get large and bulky, spinal arthritis causes the joints of the spine increase in size, and the ligaments to thicken, which makes the space inside the canal get more narrow, and compresses the nerves.

Although symptoms may not be noticeable at the condition's onset, as the disease progresses and the spinal canal becomes ever more narrow, the nerves become pinched and blood stops flowing efficiently, causing aches and pains.

Lumbar stenosis is a common problem as people get older. Depending on the needs and condition of the patient, treatment options may include physical therapy, medication, pain-blocking injections next to the spine, or surgery, which has a high success rate and is relatively pain-free.

"I told Dr. Zimmerman that I wanted to take out the problem," Lupita says. "Not just to feel better, but to actually recover my health." Surgery it was.

"The Magic of Science"

The "O"-shape of the spinal canal is formed by the vertebrae in front, and a tissue called the lamina at the rear. During surgery, a small incision is made in the patient's back, and physicians cut the lamina and remove it, changing the canal from an "O" to an open-ended "U" shape. This opening allows more room in the canal, and blood flow to the nerves is able to resume as normal. As surgeons close the site, the patient's back muscles cover the open area of the spinal canal, leaving everything protected. The procedure can sometimes be done on an outpatient basis, and patients can go home the same day.

Lupita's surgery was performed May 8, 2003. Dr. Zimmerman was waiting in the recovery room as she came out from anesthesia. "Do you feel up to walking a little?" he asked.

Bracing herself for the worst, Lupita slowly sat up. She put her feet on the floor, stood carefully, and took a step. And then another. And another.

The pain was gone.

"This is magic — it has to be magic!" she gasped.

"It's the magic of science," Dr. Zimmerman said.

A Changed Life

It's now two years later, and nothing can keep Lupita down. "I can walk everywhere I want to go. One kilometer, or two, or three. I walk as much as I can. Everything is like it was before the problem began."

She's back at work at the television studio, covering people and events with her usual flair. But possibly more dear to her heart is the work she does for a department of the state of Guerrero, Mexico, called La Benefica Publica.

"It's an organization that helps provide healthcare for people who otherwise couldn't afford it," Lupita says. "Whether they need heart surgery, a knee replacement, a wheelchair or a cane, La Beneficia Publica makes it all possible. It's a privilege to work in something like this, because you can change the lives of so many people."

And as much as anyone, Lupita knows just how valuable that is. "Mayo Clinic made me a new woman," she smiles.