My days of Professional Swimming and Pro-Beach Volleyball are long behind me now. I just turned 52 years old a couple of weeks ago. But when you are a lifelong athlete, you have a natural intensity, focus and basic personality type that is applied to all life activities and pursuits.
I put my shoulder surgeries off for 20 years and managed to function well enough in my various activities; or so I thought. Before I came to Dr. Millett, I was limited in the sports I could do, the clothes I could wear, the movements that I felt comfortable in performing. Basically, I had a great deal of daily fear knowing that at any moment, if I wasn’t hyper-vigilant, either of my shoulders could dislocate.
Dr. Millett has changed my life. Psychologically and emotionally, I am calmer. I have less fear in general and this gives me more joy and pleasure in life. I can adventure travel and engage with life activities without worrying and doing advance planning for if my shoulders happened to dislocate in a remote part of the world. Since my surgeries, I have traveled to Africa, Myanmar and scuba dived in Thailand.
Physically, I am healthier and in even better shape than before the surgeries. I play tennis intensely. It is my new sport and I enjoy the learning progression. Even though I am not competing professionally as I did in my other sports, I do play tournaments a couple times a year. Thanks to my stable shoulders, I have worked my way up the ladder so that most of my female opponents now are college level players. One of my latest weapons that is developing well is a wicked overhand serve. I definitely need a strong serve to continue competing and developing at this level.
I feel my life has a wonderful balance now that was missing before. To sum everything up, I feel free. Thank you so much, Dr. Millett, for your exceptional skills and commitment to healing. I am honored and appreciative beyond words to be one of your patients. Thank you for how you change people’s lives for the better.
