A little more "Back" ground....(get it?)

So, here's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

When I was about 14 years old, I was running around the house one day with my shirt off, and my Mom said: "Lee, stand up straight!" I said "I am standing up straight!" So she brought me over for a closer look and said that she thought my back had a funny "hump" on it. That's what started it all...

We went to my local Doctor at that time, who didn't really know anything about scoliosis, so he sent me to the Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas. The x-rays confirmed what my Mom saw: my back had a hump, and my spine was shaped like a big letter "S." At that time (1974) the Methodist Hospital in Houston had the experts on the subject for the U.S. So off we went to Houston, where I was examined by Dr. Jesse Dickson. Dr. Dickson had worked with Dr. Harrington, the man who invented the "Harrington Rods" which were, back then, the state of the art. A Harrington procedure involved a major operation where they went in from the back, and installed 2 steel rods, and fused the spine together. At this point, we were unsure if I really needed that, so at first, I wore a brace.

The brace, called a "Milwaukee" brace, was a god-awful contraption that fit around my torso, and had 2 steel bars that came up the back, and one steel bar up the front. The bars in the back held pads that pushed against the "S" curve, and the rod in front was attached to a collar that held the whole thing together. I was supposed to wear it 23 1/2 hours a day, only taking it off for a shower! When I found out that I did not have to wear the brace while swimming, I immediately tried out for, and made, the swim team!

This was the summer right before my Sophomore year in High School. I went to Monterrey HS in Lubbock, TX, and talk about a real confidence-builder! Here I was a pimpled-faced teenager, already scared to death to be going to a big High School for my first year, AND I had to wear this horrible-looking brace! I felt like a freak-show. I remember that first year, trying to catch rides with people, because I was not yet 16, an didn't have my license. The brace was so cumbersome, that I could not even FIT into many cars - especially not the "cool cars" like a Mustang or a Firebird!

I wore the brace as best I could through HS, but even before I graduated, I chucked it the closet and said "NO MORE." Mom was upset, but she couldn't force me to wear it.

I went on through college, met my wife, Charlotte, got married, had a kid - had another, and life seemed pretty good. Then I hit my 30's...