At the age of 12 years my parents discovered I had scoliosis in 1967. I lived in Houston, TX near the medical center and was fortunate to have found a great specialist in this area. To prepare I wore the Milwaukee Brace for 9 months, which corrected some of my curvature but not enough to avoid scoliosis surgery.
I then had to undergo the scoliosis corrective surgery where I received the herring rods on my spine. The alternative without surgery just wasn’t imaginable. For example, it would be either being crippled or suffering from back pain. The strain would have significantly deteriorated the quality of my life. As a result of the blessing of this surgery, my quality of life was restored to that of any normal adolescent who went through teenage years, college, marriage and having a beautiful child. I received all the beautiful blessings of a quality life, along with a career that has taken many roads to the level of Vice President of a major corporation.
Now in my 50s, my life continued to blessed until 2010. In 2010 I began to suffer from pain in my left leg and hip area that grew progressively worse, to crippling pain over the next 6 months. I could’nt perform normal functions like grocery shopping without the assistance of the handicap scooter. Thankfully now many stores now provide. I began to seek medical help through many counsels of physicians, orthopaedic physicians and specialists, with steroid shots and pain management programs.
Though initially the shots helped, they eventually lost their effectiveness and I lived a daily life of pain. My faith did not falter and I prayed for the right physician and the right solution. I received an answer to my prayers when my neighbor, friend and chief officer of the Baycare Hospitals recommended Dr. Anthony Moreno.
This recommendation led me to a physician who is a specialist in scoliosis and on the impact, of the original herring rods from the 1960s, have had on the aging process today. He was brilliant in understanding my problem, dissecting exactly what was causing my pain, and knew the exact solutions required to resolve my life from pain. I was anxious to have the surgery and obtain my quality of life. Dr. Moreno operated in June 2011 at the Mease Hospital on McMullen Road in Clearwater, FL with their new facility specializing in orthopaedic surgeries.
As a result of this blessing and nearly four months of recovery, my quality of life is returning and the pain I once endured daily is now a memory. I continue to recover from the usual minor post surgical pain, which improves daily and is managed now through just Extra Strength Tylenol on an as needed basis. This too will soon become a memory.
The decision to endure back surgery was an easy one for me, I knew from the experience as a child what the scoliosis surgery provided to the quality of life for me. Now in the latter part of my life, I am excited that this investment will also result in the increased quality of life for the rest of my life. There is no greater gift or blessing than this.
I feel tremendously blessed to have found a great and world renowned scoliosis specialist and back surgeon in the Tampa area. During my recovery process, Dr. Moreno performed voluntary scoliosis surgery with a team of surgeons on a young boy from Belize whom my local church, Palm Harbor United Methodist Church, sponsored from our Youth Missions Ministry. This young boy had the most severe case of scoliosis I had ever seen. It caused him to live mostly in a wheel chair. The surgery was a tremendous success and this young boy and I became scoliosis friends. The results and impact on this young boy’s life and his mother’s life were incredible. He stood straight and received corrective surgery to strengthen his legs. Shortly after he has returned back to Belize, where his physical therapists report great success. He too will enjoy the blessing of an increased quality of life for the rest of his life.
Dr. Moreno is far more than the best scoliosis surgeon. He is a blessing to those who live with back pain and want their quality of life back. It was evident to me, that to Dr. Moreno it is not about performing surgeries, but about improving lives. He has the evidence of a divine calling and I am truly thankful. I am truly blessed we had the opportunity to meet.
J.L.