Battle of the body
BY ASHLEY THORPE
Reporter
When Kayla Buckley was 15, she walked into Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, Minn., for an Achilles tendon lengthening procedure in an attempt to correct a birth defect. The result of that surgery changed her life forever.
Buckley, age 26, experiences chronic pain in her back and left leg every moment of every day, with no sign of a cure in the future. Doctors believe the onset of the pain that began her sophomore year of high school started due to nerve damage as a result of the Achilles tendon lengthening surgery she underwent in her sophomore year.
“Ever since 15, my left foot feels like it’s on fire,” Buckley said. “It’s tingling and it’s numb all at the same time. It feels like something’s stabbing, pounding, throbbing at the same.”
