DR. Sebastian Villarreal, MD and Stephen Hayes are the kind of people that make Katy feel like a small town. Dr. Villarreal grew up here…he played football for Katy High and still helps out with the team. Stephen’s been here more than 20 years and has a long history of involvement in the community…including Assistant Fire Chief with the West I-10 VFD. The two are friends, they’re neighbors, and they’re business associates at Katy Pain Specialists—the clinic dedicated to improving life for those suffering in pain.

Wayne Beum was taking more than 400 pills/month for his knee pain. “Even with the meds, I could only walk short distances…and I always had a grimace on my face,” says Wayne. “Every place I went, I would calculate how many steps—ask myself if I really needed to go—and usually the decision was ‘No.’ I had isolated myself from my family, and I was down in the dumps, beat up both physically and mentally. But still, I was scared to go see Dr. Villarreal. I was dependent on the meds—they were my security blanket—but I also knew he had to take them away.”

The meds did go and Dr. Villarreal’s first step was to prescribe Wayne morphine—up to 5 pills/day. “I didn’t really know the difference it had made until I was out in the middle of nowhere and my truck had a flat. I walked around the truck…and I realized I wasn’t using my cane. It was a huge difference!” Wayne continued with Dr. Villarreal’s plan and did nerve blocking on both knees. Much of the pain was gone and Wayne was down to one or two morphine’s a day.

Then Dr. Villarreal recommended cooled radio-frequency ablation—a non-invasive, outpatient treatment that uses cooled radio-frequency energy to target the sensory nerves. Dr. Villarreal is the first doctor to bring this procedure to Katy, and to-date, he’s had a 100% success rate. Wayne is no exception…he tearfully tells about his life post-procedure. “I no longer use a cane. I can climb stairs, I can sit on my knees. I just went to the theater with my grandkids for the first time in years. I’m not doing cartwheels yet…but wow, my life is changed. The grimace is gone and the smile is back!”

“I thank God for Dr. Villarreal and I know my whole family is praising him,” continues Wayne. “If you are in pain, I really recommend you step away from the meds and go for it with Dr. Villarreal. We are planning to do the radio-frequency ablation on my back—the last place I have pain. Maybe after that I’ll be doing those cartwheels!”

Dr. Villarreal says, “The mission Stephen and I laid out for Katy Pain is to create individualized treatment plans that will make our patients independent and happy again. I love that we could do that for Wayne, and we are excited to help the rest of our hometown!”

Katy Pain Specialists
281-665-8552
24608 Kingsland Blvd, Katy, TX 77494
www.katypain.com