December 8th has been an important date to me since 1983. That was the day I had my surgery to straighten the center curve of my double S Scoliosis. I have a small curve in my cervical spine and a small one in my lumber spine, of which neither could be corrected as I would never be able to bend or sit or turn. At the time, the surgery I had was revolutionary. Prior to this invention, patients would have one rod fused to their spine. It was a very long recovery. Because of the newly invented clips, I would have 2 rods fused to my spine. One was a straight rod, as with the normal surgery, and the other looked more like the edge of a drawn pine tree. I would not have a cast or a brace. Patients with only the one rod, had a cast right after the surgery for several months followed by a brace for several more months. My back was taped for a few weeks then there were 3 stitches that needed to be taken out at home and that was all for that. Then I had to be careful not to twist or be bumped too much. I did get to miss quite a bit of school. I did not mind that. School was not my favorite place. The only thing that worried me was solo and ensemble was coming up and I was not quite ready yet
My mom did bring my clarinet with us to the hospital, well, to her friend's house where my family was staying. About 4 or 5 days after my surgery, she brought my clarinet into my hospital room for me to play. I could not get a sound out of it. I was so upset. I burst into tears. How could I not play my instrument? I had to play my solo in about 2 months or so. Mom tried to calm me down. I was too upset at the time. I wish I did remember what happened later that day but I don't. I do know that kby the time I was home a day or so, I could get sound out. It crushed me that it took that long. No one warned me about that. Music was and still is my life. As my friends say, I eat, sleep, and breathe music. My head is never quiet of music. I have music in my head all the time and I always have. That is just me.
December 8, 1984 was when I was finally allowed to twist and do all those things I was to be careful about. Good thing, only about 4 months too late. Marching Band Season started in August 1984.
Oh, and I got a II on my solo. I was very disappointed in myself because to me it meant I did not prepare as well as I should have. It was the only II I had ever gotten on a solo. All the others were I's. Everyone else was thrilled. I was not. Can you tell I have ADHD and perfectionism?? Looking back, it was a good rating because when I said I got a sound, it was a very soft thin one. It wasn't until about 2 1/2 weeks before the festival that I could actually play with a decent tone and dynamics. Had I had more notice on when the surgery was going to be, I would have started learning my piece much earlier. We didn't. It was a matter of: this day is open so take it. I think we had maybe a month notice. Missing a month and a half of good practice was awful to me. However, having a straight back and then learning to dance afterwards was well worth it.
