My name is Bill Luce and I am retired. I spent 45 years teaching to secondary and to college-level standing on my feet a lot.
What were your symptoms? How did they affect your daily life?
Particularly when I was still teaching, I would stand on my feet all day long, and my legs would get very tired and they would cramp in the evening; in fact, sometimes to the point where I couldn’t even sleep at night they were cramping so bad. And it just hurt almost all the time. And, so, my legs felt terrible; they felt heavy. I had some restless leg.
And when I came here, the difference was like night and day. You know, before the treatment, my legs were not in good shape. After I got out of here, they were great! You know, the recovery was almost nil. I was able to walk, I was able to resume my activities. I felt 100% better.
How did you hear about Alsara Vein Clinic?
Let me give one of your employees a little bit of credit: Kati Ussary was one of my students. And I actually… I somehow on Facebook for something, I found that Kati was working here, and so I sent here a message: “What do you think of this place?” And she says “Great!.” “Do you think they could help me?” “Yes!” And she was definitely right.
What was your first impression of Alsara Vein Clinic?
I think from beginning to end, my first impression of this place is that the people were here to help me. So I remember asking Dr. Gupta and the staff here – because I’d had dome prior treatments – “Do you think you can help me?” And he didn’t say anything at first; he examined my legs first, and so forth, and then said “Yes, we can help you.” Through the whole process, I felt that my health was [of] utmost concern, and they were looking after me through the entire process.
I went to Kansas City a couple of times because I’d heard that they were a good place and I did not want to have my leg [veins] stripped. And so I went to Kansas City and they were the injections. I had a couple of treatments down there, but I found them to be of temporary help. They would help for a short period of time and then the pain would resume and I was back to square one. I was a little concerned when I came here because I knew that I’d had those treatments and I didn’t know if it was going to be that much harder or if I was just going to be repeating that process again. But there’s a vast degree of difference between here and down there. People think they have to go to Kansa City to get better healthcare for their legs are completely wrong. You can find it here in St. Joe at this clinic.
How did you feel during and after your treatment?
Oh, I felt fine. There’s another, I guess, misconception some people have that it’s going to be a painful experience – they’re working on your legs and it’s going to be tough, or there’s going to be a long recovery period – and neither one is true. It’s almost completely painless. [You] might feel a little pressure or something but it’s really painless. It’s not that hard at all, and the neat thing is, when you get get up, you’re encouraged to walk, resume your normal activities that very day.
What are you able to do after treatment that you couldn’t do before?
What am I able to do now… I think I can almost do anything that I could do when I was 40 years younger, you know, as far as with my legs. I can walk, I can do anything and not have pain doing it; that’s the key thing. My legs do not cramp. And, so, I feel so much better than I did before I came here. The absence of pain is probably the biggest one. My legs no longer cramp. I no longer have restless leg. I’m able to do what I want to do without any pain. I can walk, ‘cause I love to walk. My legs are as good as new. And that is, to me, everything!
How would you describe Doctor Gupta?
[He is an] extremely intelligent, caring individual. I can’t think of anyone I would want to trust my legs with more than Dr. Gupta. He is a remarkable man. He knows what he’s doing. And he has the knack – I’ve heard this from people who have been here, too – he has the knack of being able to explain your condition to you in common, understandable english. He’s not speak “doctor,” you know, he speaks english to people, and they understand what he is going to do, what the procedure is going to be, and what the expectation will be when he is done, and he’s right.
What is your impression of the staff at Alsara Vein Clinic?
Everyone from top to bottom, everyone’s very friendly here, they’re very knowledgeable. Kati, who did a lot of the Ultrasound work – former student of mine – is, of course, excellent. And everyone here, they have been… I can’t say enough about the staff. They have been very friendly, very helpful, and they’ve answered all the questions that we’ve had.
Tell us more about the various treatments you’ve had at Alsara Vein Clinic?
I’ve had numerous treatments here, and I’ve been pleased with every one of them. And they’ve progressed from, ah… I can mention a couple that I’m more familiar with: the laser treatment [Endovenous Laser Ablation], which was good, and I had the more recent treatment that he’s developed, the [VenaSeal] venous treatment that also was very helpful. Every one of them seemed to work well with less… with almost no time for recovery. I was pleased with every treatment that I’ve had here. And veins are probably an ongoing thing, but I’ve always come in here and Dr. Gupta has been able to treat me with what ever the latest method is. I think that says something for him that he also keeps up on what is going on, and he’s not content with just what is in existence right now, he’s looking ahead to see how he can better treat his patients, and I appreciate that.
Would you recommend Alsara Vein Clinic to others?
Yeah, I would highly recommend this place to anyone who’s having any kind of leg problems. They will be upfront with you, the will tell you what you need, and you can count on them giving you good treatment, and that the staff and Dr. Gupta will do everything they can to make sure your receive the best treatment that’s available for your legs.
My most recent treatment here at Alsara came as a result of me coming with my wife last summer. I was wearing shorts because it was so hot, and Dr. Gupta happened to notice that legs had deteriorated a little bit, that I was beginning to have some bulging in my legs with my veins. He asked how I was feeling and I said ‘I still feel pretty good but, yeah, they are beginning to bulge, beginning to show a little bit’ and he said ‘You know, we can take care of that’. And so that’s when the most recent treatment started, after I came in with my wife and Dr. Gupta just happened to notice what my legs looked like. I didn’t… they felt… compared to what they felt like originally, they were still a lot better, nearly 100%. But afterwards, a-ha, I had no idea, they were even better, totally 100% better, and they looked better. My wife and other people have noticed when I wear shorts that my legs are far more natural. They look like they should. The swelling has gone down. My veins don’t pop out like they did. It’s almost like my legs have been set on redial from 40 years ago. You guys have restored my leg health. I mean, I can’t say enough. That’s why I am more than happy to do this because I do feel they’re 100% better like I said in that first commercial.
Probably my most recent referral was some dear friends of ours who had… He really had trouble with his legs. He could no longer walk. The swelling of legs was tremendous. He had difficulty getting around. He could not walk very well. He had been to various places to get treatment, including Mayo and other places, and he had been told that that was just the way it was, you know, to exercise more, do some physical therapy, and it would improve on its own. And his health began to deteriorate. He still had trouble walking around. Going up stairs was nearly impossible for him. If he would go to a store or something, he had to have one of the portable wheelchairs or motor carts that they have to go around the store – he had to have that. And he had almost given up all hope, They were even talking about moving and closing their business down and so forth because his legs were in that bad of shape. And he came here and the treatment was remarkable. That very day that he got out, he went to one of our bigger department stores here in town – two of them actually – and walked clear around both. And I said ‘Well, how’d you feel?’ and he said ‘Well, my feet were not used to walking that much but that was it. My legs felt fine.’ And so he was really very, very happy that he came here, and he received exactly the treatment that he needed for his legs.
My wife, who also was beginning to have some problems with her legs in terms of cramping and not feeling as good, she came here. In fact, we were kind of a one-two into the office here, and she has had the treatments and is also feeling much, much better. She’s a 100% better just like me. She found the treatments to be painless and she was able to resume her activities that very day. So she is feeling grateful and a lot better as well.
I have recommended several people come here. I can tell you this: everyone that I have recommended this place to who has come here has had a positive experience. They, too, have been helped. It’s not just me, they have also been helped. Their legs feel better. And they range in age from, oh, the youngest maybe in their ‘40s all the way up to one lady who was in her early ‘90s who came here, and this clinic was able to help her.
As I watched the colorful pictures on the screen, I thought of my mother, who passed away at a fairly young age after living with “heartburn” for years, that was treated with medications for indigestion. Being a woman and a diabetic are both major factors that confound the symptoms of heart disease. A slightly higher index of suspicion could have saved her life and one of the newer diagnostic tools such as the Coronary Calcium Scan could have kept her health in check.
Life is a beautiful journeyI witness the daily hopes and aspirations of numerous patients like this amazing woman who is 93 years “young”. Some have the usual symptoms of heaviness in the legs, cramps, restlessness, and swelling. Many others have lived long enough with vein problems in their legs and present with clots or sores in their legs. Hope tends to be contagious. Earlier this week, while treating a patient who came with a clot in her leg, I found out that her husband was also on my schedule. He has lived with swelling and sores in his legs for many years. She indicated with pride that, “I diagnosed his problem myself and told him to come and see you”. I won’t be surprised if he will soon be able to enjoy the full use of his legs without the constant fear of ongoing pain, infection, or even risk of amputation.
I’ve been working on my feet since I was in high school; that’s actually what brought me to Alsara. I just really started to have some pain in my legs, and my lifestyle was really changed. I wasn’t as active as I used to be, and I knew I had to do something about it.
Modern science and medicine have enabled countless seniors to live free from disease and chronic pain while also prolonging their lives. However, research has demonstrated that factors such as socializing and relationships are equally important factors for longevity and quality of life. A small town in Southern London put this finding to test and combined one of the largest retirement homes with a nursery school. This project not only helped bridge the age divide but also infused a new wave of energy, with improved levels of functioning in the elderly who had advanced stages of dementia and physical limitations.
My name is Katrina Brown. I enjoy spending time with my family. I enjoy walking - even more so now that I’ve had treatment on my legs.
