The shooting in Tulsa at a hospital involved a man shooting the orthopedic surgeon who operated on him a month or so earlier. Both the shooter, who suicided, and the surgeon-victim died. Others present were shot, some fatally. The shooter was unhappy with his surgical results and perhaps with a lack of follow-up.
Conventional wisdom holds that back surgery often does not provide the desired relief from pain. Given its reputation, I'm pretty sure I'd only have back surgery if life without pain relief had become not worth living.
If I went ahead, I would hope for relief without necessarily expecting it. Apparently, the former patient in Tulsa didn't have that understanding of the uncertain likelihood of success, or chose not to believe it.
Neurological surgery is an iffy thing, I've had three procedures for a non-life-threatening but quite painful condition not in my back. The first was successful for 8 years, after which the condition returned.
The second, while done at one of the premier institutions for that procedure by people I trusted, had zero therapeutic effect. The third done almost 9 years ago was, thank heavens, successful and there has been no recurrence so far. I've been warned recurrence is definitely possible.
