For anyone who has ever suffered from chronic pain —  which according to a 2011 report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), more than 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain at a cost of around $600 billion a year in medical treatments and lost productivity — finding relief can be the difference between living life and dreading life.

For Sherri Coppage, her story fortunately turned out positively thanks in part to an innovative laser treatment that gave the mother and grandmother her life back. “Unlike so many people who suffer for decades from chronic pain, my husband and I discovered a procedure that got me back on my feet and enjoying life again quickly,” said Sherri. “I had injured my left ankle while exercising about two years ago. It became swollen and excruciating to walk on at times. Many nights I would wake up and cry from the excruciating pain.”

With her husband Mike, the area manager with Gannett at the time and a former senior executive at AT&T, the couple visited countless doctors seeking an elusive cure. “Sherri didn’t want to endure exploratory surgery or risk the side effects of powerful painkillers like Oxycontin,” explained Mike. “So that’s when I turned to one of my customers, CuraLase.”

The Healing Power of Lasers
CuraLase utilizes a 16,000-megawatt laser capable of penetrating five inches deep into the human body to stimulate cells and accelerate the growth of tissue, bone, and muscle to relieve the pressure on nerves causing pain. The technology was approved for safety and efficacy by the FDA in 2005.

Mike reached out to Roger Porter, the president and CEO of CuraLase. Mike told Porter, the developer of the laser technology, “I want you to relieve my wife of pain…and then I want you to hire me!”

And that’s exactly what happened. Sherri began a six-week laser treatment program that immediately began to alleviate all her pain (she is currently 100 percent pain-free) and Mike embarked upon a new chapter of his career as the company’s vice president of marketing and business development. “Having watched Sherri experience this painful ordeal was heart-wrenching,” recalled Mike. “But sharing in her full recovery through CuraLase inspired me to help bring this solution to the masses of people who suffer from chronic pain day in and day out.”

“Since joining this team,” Mike continued, “our hearts have been touched by so many other patients whose quality of life has improved thanks to CuraLase. I tell Sherri that thanks to her injury, we now have the ability to help so many other people who are debilitated by chronic pain.”