I figured that any discussion of health would generate interest amongst the most engaging personalities on this forum.

On a serious note, however, perhaps this could serve as a cautionary note to other musicians. I certainly wish I had spoken beforehand with others who had undergone similar procedures. I was an uninformed consumer.

A couple of years ago, I had 3 nasal surgeries as the result of an injury I sustained in an attack. During the course of the second surgery, that particular surgeon accidentally collapsed the nasal valve on the good side of my nose, and decided on a whim, to reduce the size of my nasal turbinates while he was tinkering around. Singers know how important those are for vocal resonance! These two "unfortunate" surgical complications have adversely impacted my breathing and resonance, and have been very difficult for me to deal with, but what is done, is done. What Julie Andrews must have experienced! Vocalists, before you undergo nose and throat surgeries, discuss what you do NOT want them tampering with.

Last summer, after years of degenerative joint disease (caused, in part, by wearing ill-fitting, high-heeled shoes), I finally got up the nerve to get a joint implant in my left foot, in the interest of regaining some mobility which I had lost. I underwent a Metatarsal Phalangeal Joint Implant (MPJI), which in layman's terms, means replacement of the large joint which attaches to the big toe. It is a joint destructive procedure in which a saw, blade, or rasp is used for joint removal. I actually got to actively participate in that part briefly, because not enough anesthesia was administered and I woke up during the surgery. The implant which my surgeon used, is a titanium one. The recovery period was rough and painful. I had the surgery done in early July, and the very first time that I could put on an over-sized shoe for a short period of time, was in mid-September. One year later, I am left with a mess. The mobility which I had hoped to gain from the surgery, actually had the opposite effect: I now have 10% mobility, according to the surgeon, as well as chronic pain with every step. Interruption to the blood supply has apparently now caused some of the bones around that joint implant to deteriorate, as well. The only alternative left is to have the implant removed, which the surgeon only advises for elderly patients who are more housebound.

While tales were never widely circulated of my organ pedal-playing skills, pre-surgery, and if truth-be-told, I never was mistaken for "Lightning Lefty," even at the peak of my career, this is a setback that I must deal with. It takes some oomph to push down old organ pedals, and "Ol' Titanium Toes" more aptly describes my ability today.

Medical surgery is an imprecise science, as we are forewarned. It can not fix everything.