"I was an ardent yoga practitioner for many years and avid hiker until black ice brought me down. Not in an ashram or on a mountain but right on Fifth Avenue and 13th St. I realized what had happened -- a broken kneecap -- and that I couldn’t get up. I once thought I would never cross the street without crutches again, but now I’m back on the mountain!"
"My game is not a sport. It's the game of life. I have an autoimmune disease called myositis. My treatment includes oral prednisone and monthly infusions of IVIG. When I first got sick almost 20 years ago I was 44. I was an elementary school teacher but had to leave due to extreme weakness in my arms and legs. I could barely walk or bathe myself. I refused to just give in to the disease and view my life as over. "
"I have had three procedures at HSS in 2013/14. Dr. Bostrom did an extraordinary knee arthroscopy and I have regained full knee range minus pain. Dr. Darren Lebl replaced discs in my back and neck. I am just amazed at his skill and technique, I barely have a scar! I went in with a terrible pain in my arm and shoulder, I had a scar on my neck from previous cervical surgery, and I could scarcely believe that all these issues were resolved."
"Eight other doctors, affiliated with four other teaching hospitals in New York City, diagnosed my problem as stemming from a herniated disk compressing the nerve at the L5/S1 level. Why is it significant that Dr. Waldman made his diagnosis on Tuesday, April 9th? Because two surgeons, one specializing in neurosurgery and the second in minimally invasive spine surgery, were originally scheduled to operate on my back that day."
"I brought my aging, painful back to HSS and placed it in the hands of an HSS physiatrist. She and her staff were relentless in searching for a means of relief for me through various up-to-date medical procedures and physical therapy."
"I had been in pain for over 10 years with my knees and constantly on pain medication. I am a musician - performing for events on keyboard and vocals, standing at the keyboard leading my band. At the end of every performance I was in terrible pain. When I got home each evening I was limping and could not sleep without pain killers."

