Dear Dr. Hope, Follow Up Letter

Summer 2018

Dear Dr. Hope,

Eight years later, I am writing you again. I was one of your patients back in the 1990s. You did a laminectomy on me in 1997. I wrote you a letter in 2010 (enclosed) to let you know how you had given me my life back.

I thought it was time for another update. On April 27th 2018, at the age of 52, I received my First Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. In nearly 40 years of teaching martial arts, Grandmaster Ron Jenkins has awarded approximately 200 First Degree Black Belts, and I believe that I am the second-oldest, First Degree Black Belt that he has ever awarded in all that time.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that you had a little help along the way. Doctor Garretson repaired my rotator cuff and a SLAP tear in early 2008, and Doctor Wise did another laminectomy in late 2014 on the same disk you did. Just the same, this letter is important to me because I got nearly 17 good years of your work, and it gave me the opportunity to keep myself in a physical condition where I would recover very quickly from my second time around.

So, once again, I feel the need to express my gratitude. Other doctors have done surgeries on me that were more recent but, ultimately, it was your work that gave me ability to keep it real for 17 years. If it wasn’t for you in 1997, that Black Belt would not have happened in 2018.

So, thank you.

And, for the record, you and the other two surgeons all got a shout-out in my Black Belt speech, :)

Sincerely,

Bill