Sunday, May 17, 2009

Serving in the Army after revision kyphosis surgery 4 years ago

This past week I was surprised with a quick “family reunion” at Hey Clinic, when Zach, with his new bride and his mom and dad and sister dropped by to see me and our Hey Clinic staff.
Around 4 years ago, I did revision kyphosis surgery on Zach when he was a teenager, after he had front and back (anterior / posterior) kyphosis surgery done elsewhere.  His surgery involved complex multilevel osteotomies and instrumentation.  He subsequently did great, and wished to pursue his dream of being in the Army and serving our country even overseas.
I wrote a bunch of letters for Zach to help him get in, and even talked to one of the top physicians in the US Army a couple years ago at length, while I was waiting in an airport --- but the top doctor was not very optimistic that he would be able to serve after having spinal surgery of any kind, much less such complex multilevel surgery.
Zach was disappointed but didn’t give up.

This past week he came in with his full Army gear on, after being trained in demolition for several months.
He’ll be going overseas to help protect our soldiers from explosive devices.

Dreams do come true.
What a joyful reunion it was to see you and your family, Zach, including your new bride!
God bless you as you go and serve our country.
We are all proud of you.

Dr. Lloyd Hey
http://www.heyclinic.com
Hey Clinic for Scoliosis and Spine Surgery

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