I have a platinum disc in my neck.

My right shoulder joint is made of nickel and plastic.

I have 3 stainless steel screws in my sacro-illiac.

I am The Bionic Violist!

I make jokes about this now, but the journey was hard, deeply hampered by insurance companies, certain doctors and my own terror.  I underwent 6 surgeries (and not minor ones) over the period of 9 years.  Every round of surgery brought the usual risks, but underneath all that was the fear that this time, this time, something would happen that would keep me from the glorious, rich sound of my beloved viola.

For those of you professional string players reading this post in secret from your colleagues, there is hope.  No guarantees, but there is hope of a life that includes playing after major surgeries.  The silence around injuries in professional musicians has to end; we are destroying ourselves in our fear of losing our jobs.

I will write in depth of each major surgery in later posts but here I will start with short sketches.  

Two of the major injuries both stemmed from a tiny one at my own birth.  Pressure on my right side caused my right shoulder and hip joints to form abnormally.  The right side of my lower spine was also compressed just enough to become a problem later in life.  The truly horrifying part of this injury is that I was really lucky!  Many people who have suffered this kind of birth injury deal with quite serious consequences that include death.

My right shoulder, my precious bow shoulder was the first place the pain began.  My shoulder had subluxated in my late teens and a career playing in orchestras starting at age 17 had slowly worn away 85% of my shoulder cartilage.  I went through two laparoscopies before finally taking my courage in both hands and having my shoulder replaced.  The recovery was miserable, but I can play and play well again.

The disc in my neck was the unlucky result of a car accident.  The “adventures” required in actually getting my disc replaced will make at least one other post.

The sacro-illiac fusion was absolutely the best surgery!  I gained ¾ of an inch in height!  Pain that I had not realized that I was living with ended during the two year recovery period.  Getting the sacro-illiac surgery was a horrible experience.  I fought my insurance company, several doctors and spent three days in the local psyche ward before I was “permitted” to have this life-changing surgery.