11th Year Anniversary

[golfnut]

January 5 will be 11th year anniversary of my spinal surgery with Dr. Lenke and I will be celebrating! I will forever be thankful for Dr. Lenke's expertise in straightening my spine which has allowed me to continue to be active playing golf, tap dancing, bike riding, etc. At age 70, I actually won two golf tournaments last summer. I couldn't imagine before surgery that I would be able to play golf decently with my spine fused. I can also stand for limitless time with zero pain. Prior to surgery, I would be in pain after only a few minutes of standing.

For the year prior to surgery and several years after surgery, I was constantly on this forum for my own benefit and to also attempt to share my experiences with others. Most of the names today are no longer familiar except for Ed and Linda. Without the forum to communicate with those who had surgery before me and those who were awaiting surgery, I doubt that I would have had the nerve to elect to have major surgery. Best of luck to all of you whether you are contemplating surgery or recovering from surgery. My main advice is to be extremely selective in choosing your surgeon.

Karen
P.S. Last January, I saw Dr. Gupta (who replaced Dr. Lenke) in St. Louis. After check ups every January for 10 years, Dr. Gupta said I won't need to go back for 10 years.

[titaniumed]

Karen, congratulations on 11 years, and also winning the 2 golf tournaments... When I drove those balls for you years ago, right away I noticed increased stability in my golf swing. Glad that scoliosis surgery helped with your golf game.

My neck is the best it's been since my herniations surfaced in 2013. I started taking 1000 IU of Vitamin D daily about a year and a half ago and 90% of the cracking and pops stopped....I can hardly get anything to pop anymore. My spine is great! No pain....and hardly any of the scar tissue related weather induced gripping bear traps in the thoracic. I have complained about that for years....

I recently read that Tina Turner worked at Barnes Jewish before singing with Ike in 1958. She worked in maternity.

"What's spine got to do, got to do with it?"....(smiley face) I am running out of medical jokes.

We are all lucky to have Dr Lenke.....

Ed

[golfnut]

Ed,
You always make me laugh! Love your jokes! I'm glad you're doing so well. I remember being so concerned that it would be impossible to swing a golf club with a fused spine and you relieved me of that fear! You should take up golf-it's safer than snow skiing.
When I check in every year near my anniversary, I always think I'm going to become active once again but then realize my memory of details for preparation before surgery and tips following surgery would be a little hazy. I noticed Linda's reply (to the person asking about Dr. Lenke) stated that there just aren't many posts. Back when I was an active poster with so many questions, I don't know what I would have done without the support from the people on the forum who replied. I still exchange Christmas cards with several of them. For some reason, I suspect that people just aren't finding out about the forum. I remember asking at Dr. Lenke's office for people that I could talk to who had a similar surgery and was given the web site for the forum. Anyway, I'm sure the interest is out there but somehow people aren't finding out about the forum like they did 10 years ago.

[jackieg412]

It is great to hear you are doing so well. I remember reading your posts.
I'm not sure why new people aren't active. I found this site very important as I made my decision. My surgeon told me about the forum.
Good to hear from you

[titaniumed]

I stopped skiing in 2013 because it stopped snowing and I like it deep. When your a powder hound, you notice things like global warming. I moved to Lake Tahoe 40 years ago for powder. It's one of the top 10 deep powder locations in the world. I have skied with Utah light snow up to my armpits, that day was March 12th, 2006. When the temps increased a few days later, depression set in because I knew it would never happen again. Powder skiing is hit or miss...There are just a few outstanding days per season. If that....

I also stopped because I was up to speed again and reality set in.... I couldn't turn off the chicken part of my brain anymore. I learned how to control anxiety with ski jumping when I was a teen....I had big time anxiety on big jumps and realized that it was my mind controlling this fear. When I realized that I was in control, the lowering of the stress was the most important thing. It helped with my scoliosis surgeries even though I did have pre-surgery anxiety that I had to run off.

You ever hear about or use a L.A.B golf putter?

Ed