My son Michael is a handsome, lovable and fun loving young man; he is seventeen years old and is mentally challenged. He has various disabilities and has endured his share of pain in his young life and one of them is him having Scoliosis.
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Michael’s previous doctors and assistant’s were not as compassionate to Michael as Dr, Antonacci. They recommended a brace that he wore for a year, and by the second year it was causing Michael a lot of discomfort, he had rashes and pain caused by what seemed to us an ill fitting brace, and we thought possibly he needed a new one as Michael had grown some during this time. My Husband and I spoke to the Physicians about this, but they seemed not at all concerned. They insisted that he continue to wear the brace as is. Soon afterwards the brace caused Michael’s rash on his chest to bleed and we had to go to a dermatologist to have it diagnosed. The last visit we had with them, they had a bad attitude and made us feel very uncomfortable with them. We felt so bad at that point that we decided we were never returning to their office and that we would start from the beginning and find a new Doctor.
Consequently we found and made an appointment with Dr. Darryl Antonacci. From the moment you meet with Dr. Antonacci you can tell he is not only an outstanding human being but also an outstanding Doctor. He listened and addressed our concerns and arranged for various tests to be done. After all of this was done his recommendation was surgery.
We spoke with our son Michael of course, and as a parent you don’t want surgery done on your children unless it is absolutely necessary, but Michael was tired of being in pain and of wearing a brace. He wanted the surgery done so that he can could stand straight and not be in pain for the rest of his life. Michael’s surgery was performed at the Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. This was one of the best hospitals I have ever been to. The staff there was outstanding they treated Michael very kindly and they were very attentive towards Michael’s needs and recovery. Michael had surgery on August 9th 2006 and was able to go back to school the following month on Sept 8th. Michael will be looking forward to running track this spring with the Special Olympics, this is something that he looks forward to every year and with Dr. Antonacci’s care and guidance we are sure he will come out a winner.
Michael and all of us in the family are very happy with Dr.Antonacci and his staff and of course his successful surgery, and we wish to express our utmost faith and appreciation to his professionalism and compassion that he has shown to all of us. (writen by Nancy R, Michael’s mother)