MY JOURNEY:
Bumps In The Road and The Four “R’s” I Use to Steer Around Them
The last year has been one I could choose to give in to pain, aging, decreased function, become more sedentary, give up golf and vigorous exercise, and let my face and body go……or not. I chose the path less traveled, to quote Robert Frost. I chose not to give in but to fight. I have had worn-out joints in my left foot and both knees for many years, but I have managed the pain myself with injections, medications, and weight management. It seems my 70th birthday, May of 2023, was the signal for my left foot and right knee to say, enough is enough. I think three Bataan Death March marathon rucks with a 45-pound pack over the previous five years was the reason, but who’s to say? Anyway, the pain became worse, I worked out less and began to gain weight, and my doctor told me to stop taking so much Aleve, as it had affected my kidneys. Mentally, I think I started to go into that downward aging spiral. I said to myself, is this it? The emergency came when I couldn’t play more than 7-8 holes of golf with my son and son-in-law and was forced to limp home. I had a couple of other maintenance medical problems that needed to be addressed as well, which frustrated me even more. I had an “old man prostate” and an esophageal stricture that needed dilating. I own and run a medical spa, and all of this made my face wrinkles worse, and my eye bags sag more. Time for the recliner or rocking chair? Absolutely not!
Let’s start with the Four R’s. REGENERATION, REJUVENATION, REPAIR, and REVELATION. Using these to guide us, we can all make a plan. First, I found a pad and made a list of where I would start to get control of my health and my life. The most acute issue was the esophageal stricture, which was dilated by my GI doctor and has not come back with medication and a change in evening diet. I then moved to the plumbing issue and had the prostate obstruction taken care of, which I had been putting off. Procrastination is such a nasty habit! I should have taken care of it years ago. It was so much easier than I expected. Both of these are examples of physical REPAIR.
I began to inject my inflamed and arthritic joints with PRP and PRF made from my blood to decrease pain and REJUVENATE the tissues. I had remarkable results with my left knee and my shoulders. However, my left foot joints and my right knee were too worn out, so I moved on to REPAIR for those. I picked the two best specialists in town for the prospective surgeries and had my left foot fused in February, and I had a total knee replacement in early June. Currently, I have no pain in my left foot, and the right knee is recovering nicely. I expect no pain there, as well. I tell my patients and friends that I expect to return to wearing out those joints with great intensity soon.
While all of this has been going on, I have been utilizing our expert medical spa staff to begin aesthetic REJUVENATION treatments for my face, neck, and body. So far, I have had Microneedling with radiofrequency treatments for my face and neck, plasma pen treatment to shrink my eye bags, and PRF-gel injections for the area under my eyes and my midface. In addition, I have enjoyed Tru-Body ID and Flex treatments for body contouring.
Our new and most exciting treatment is the introduction of bone marrow aspirate to obtain stem cells for medical and aesthetic purposes. This is true regeneration when one can use the patient’s stem cells. I hope to use this new treatment on my remaining joints to avoid more surgical repair.
REVELATION occurred when I happened on to a new book series by author, electrical engineer, and pastor John Burke. The name of the first book I read is called Imagine the God of Heaven. I was so intrigued that I read the first book he wrote on the topic of NDE’s (near-death experiences), Imagine Heaven. He interviewed thousands of people of all ages, all religious beliefs, and even agnostics and atheists who have had “near-death experiences” and have stories to tell. He compares their stories to stories told in the scriptures of the Bible, especially in the book of REVELATION. As a doctor who has been with many at the time of death and spoken to a few with NDE’s, these books have had an impact on me and my life.