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Dedication

Surgical Recovery

Testimonials from Howard's Massage Clients

Hi, Howard.

Thanks so much for the session last week. I thought you would like to know that the releases are continuing to "hold". The essentially painfree nature of my back is truly significant. There is still some holding there but I can breath down into the body without spasms and pain in the back muscles.

Also, the left "frozen" shoulder is completely resolved — that subscapular work (ouch!) freed it up so that the last bit of contraction (couldn't lift the arm straight out to the side and then vertical) is gone and my arm goes straight up when lifted out to the side. It was not even close to that before the session.

Also, I noticed some sharp pain in my right ankle for two days afterward, and attribute this to the fact that the releases resulted in my standing and walking differently. The ankle situation has resolved since then.

Finally, my pilates instructor said today (first session with her since the work with you) that she can see that my pelvis is in a different position, and that the work I am doing on the trap table is coming out of the deeper core of my body more consistently.

But the pelvis shift is most obvious to her, and notable given how cork-screwed my lower body has been. And when I have both feet on the bar side-by-side and am pushing away from it with the core, the legs feel completely different. They working at the same level of strength rather than the left leg being apparently weaker.

For the record, my problems started in 2000 when I had a partial hysterectomy in which my uterus was removed due to 6½ pounds of fibroid tumours. These tumours pressed against the sciatic nerve at night and so there was a lot of pain.

Also, in 2005 I had open-heart surgery to repair my mitral valve, the deterioration of which was due to permanent damage from bacterial endocarditis in the late 1980s and which had progressed to the point where the heart was enlargening and losing functionality as evidenced from sharp chest pains on bending and increased frequency and severity of panic attacks which were associated with the body trying to compensate by kicking in adrenaline.

The cut through the sternum was about 4 inches and there were also two major openings for tubes, one over the diaphragm and one on the inside of the left breast, plus arterial IV's (can't remember the clinical name) in the left crook of the arm and the left side of the neck. Plus there was a catherization done pre-op through the right femoral artery beginning in the groin area.

So, good things happening.

Love,
Kathy

(Several days after the above was sent): And one more thing. Today I had my first vocal coaching since the session with you and didn't tell my coach of the thoracic work you did. He was watching my rib cage and diaphragm area as I ran scales and his eyes widened real big and he said, "You're moving!"

I told him about the work you did. He was very impressed. I still feel some pain deep in when I sing for a period of time and really just let the body move with the breath, but it is MUCH better! And the emotional charge from breathing that way is gone.