When Beth Sanden entered the office of Burak Ozgur, M.D., director of Hoag Spine Center, in a wheelchair, she was despondent.
When she returned home from her first consultation, she was radiant.
And when she finished her first 5K race, a month and a half after Dr. Ozgur performed a complex back surgery on her lower spine, Beth was triumphant.
A decorated athlete, Beth suffered her first injury in 2002, while preparing for the Boston Marathon and the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii. Falling on a downhill stretch, Sanden said she landed on her shoulder blades on broken asphalt. The crash rendered her paralyzed and wheelchair bound. Doctors said she’d never walk again.
“Well, she did walk, and she not only walked, she competed in additional marathons and triathlons,” said Dr. Ozgur, who had not been part of her care team back then. “But life threw another wrench, and she was in a car accident a few years back.”
After becoming a champion marathoner and Guinness World Record holder on the handcycle, Beth was T-boned on Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point in 2021. She suffered stress fractures in her L-4 and L-5 lumbar vertebrae in her lower back – an injury that moved her from cane to walker and back to wheelchair.
Five doctors told her they couldn’t help her. Then she found Dr. Ozgur.
“When she came in she didn’t have hope,” Dr. Ozgur said. “I promised her what I promised all my patients: I will give you the time and the patience, and I’ll be honest with you.”
He was also extremely thorough. It’s a trait he inherited from his neurosurgeon father, and one that continues to distinguish Dr. Ozgur in his specialty of minimally invasive surgical techniques for common degenerative and complex disorders.
“He got right to it,” she said. What had eluded other neurosurgeons was the cause of her debilitation. Was it her original thoracic spinal cord injury, or the new lumbar spine injury? Through comprehensive testing, Dr. Ozgur concluded the issue was in her lumbar spine. Dr. Ozgur recommended a complex surgery that would give her the best chance of regaining her mobility.
“He said, ‘We’ll get you up and walking,” Beth said.
“I didn’t get to be at her first consultation, but when she came home, she was radiant,” said Burt Sanden, Beth’s husband. “He took a lot of time, and it was obvious that not only did he have the skills, but he also cared about her as a person. That was beyond what she was used to.”
After her 2002 accident, she had been in the hospital for 3½ months.
Within 24 hours after her surgery with Dr. Ozgur, she was already up and walking.
“She’s such a hard-working and determined person with a positive drive and amazing spirit,” said Dr. Ozgur. “I was thrilled to help her get back to doing what she loves.”
Less than six months after surgery, Sanden completed the 2023 Los Angeles Marathon in a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes. She uses her story to inspire others as a member of the Challenged Athletes Foundation and as a USA Triathlon coach.
She even inspired Dr. Ozgur’s entire office staff to participate in a 5K with her, less than two months after her surgery.
“I want to motivate others, that’s the whole purpose,” she said. “I’m back in the game, and that’s what I really, really love.”
Visit hoag.org/spine to learn more about Hoag’s Spine Center.
