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Hey Y'all - long time no see/hear! Hope everyone has been doing well the past 6 years - that is how long it has been since I've regularly played.
Thought I would share my quite unique medical situation that forced me to stop playing until late 2021. It all started in late 2016 when I would randomly have tingling and numbness in my lower lip. Back then it would occur once every couple of weeks and last for 10-15 minutes. But in 2017, it started happening more and more to the point that it would occasionally happen when I played - I talked to my then conductor about it, and he told me he had the exact same issue and it was likely allergies, and he said Claritin took care of his issues - well I tried Claritin, Allegra, and Zyrtec, and none of them worked for me. A few months later, becoming increasingly frustrated, I visited my allergist, who told me straight away that nothing that I was describing was consistent with allergies, especially with the way it was localized to the lower right lip. He said it might be a neurological condition. Uh oh - I've read how things like focal dystonia has ruined the playing of brass players. The numbness was one of many symptoms that could be focal dystonia - knowing that focal dystonia was incurable, I began to worry. The episodes came more frequently, and the final straw for me was when I was all alone in my band, and it had a solo - I told the conductor I wasn't sure if I could do it, and he arranged the clarinets to take my solo since they had cues, etc. It's a good thing, because I could not have played the solo. I became more dejected, and at the same time, my kid started taking private lessons on acoustic guitar - and in no time I became hooked also, and decided to give up on brass playing altogether - I just couldn't rely on my chops! I sold all of my brass equipment save for my old Bach 42B trombone that I bought from Mr. Chuck Levin himself in the mid-80s.
I had a blast learning acoustic guitar, and quickly became versed in all things Martin, Taylor and Gibson - you think brass players are gear heads, you haven't seen anything compared to what guitar players are like, LOL. The bouts of numbness continued throughout this entire period, but it didn't affect any of my playing or anything else, so life went on. Fast forward to May 2021 - long story about how it was discovered, but I got diagnosed with lymphoma of the oral cavity - a very rare iteration apparently. What I have is indolent, or slow growing, so it is unlikely to sneak up on me to become life threatening. Nevertheless, by the second treatment, the numbness went away completely - apparently the disease was impinging on a nerve in my lower lip for all of those years. By late 2021, I started playing my Bach 42B again - I never rejoined my old band, and I realized what a huge time commitment that was with my family, job, etc. but I resolved to play again one day again at my parish. And if y'all remember me, one of the biggest reasons I started playing euphonium was because of the Bach cello suites. I'm excited that I have a John Packer 274 headed my way - even 7 years ago, I was amazed that these clones were very nearly as good as the most premium instruments, and this Packer looks to be better than any of the clones I've ever played several years ago. I'm looking forward to it.
Looking forward to catching up with y'all - I certainly enjoyed the conversations over the years on the forum with Dave, Rick, Doug, and many others.
Cheers!
Scott
Thought I would share my quite unique medical situation that forced me to stop playing until late 2021. It all started in late 2016 when I would randomly have tingling and numbness in my lower lip. Back then it would occur once every couple of weeks and last for 10-15 minutes. But in 2017, it started happening more and more to the point that it would occasionally happen when I played - I talked to my then conductor about it, and he told me he had the exact same issue and it was likely allergies, and he said Claritin took care of his issues - well I tried Claritin, Allegra, and Zyrtec, and none of them worked for me. A few months later, becoming increasingly frustrated, I visited my allergist, who told me straight away that nothing that I was describing was consistent with allergies, especially with the way it was localized to the lower right lip. He said it might be a neurological condition. Uh oh - I've read how things like focal dystonia has ruined the playing of brass players. The numbness was one of many symptoms that could be focal dystonia - knowing that focal dystonia was incurable, I began to worry. The episodes came more frequently, and the final straw for me was when I was all alone in my band, and it had a solo - I told the conductor I wasn't sure if I could do it, and he arranged the clarinets to take my solo since they had cues, etc. It's a good thing, because I could not have played the solo. I became more dejected, and at the same time, my kid started taking private lessons on acoustic guitar - and in no time I became hooked also, and decided to give up on brass playing altogether - I just couldn't rely on my chops! I sold all of my brass equipment save for my old Bach 42B trombone that I bought from Mr. Chuck Levin himself in the mid-80s.
I had a blast learning acoustic guitar, and quickly became versed in all things Martin, Taylor and Gibson - you think brass players are gear heads, you haven't seen anything compared to what guitar players are like, LOL. The bouts of numbness continued throughout this entire period, but it didn't affect any of my playing or anything else, so life went on. Fast forward to May 2021 - long story about how it was discovered, but I got diagnosed with lymphoma of the oral cavity - a very rare iteration apparently. What I have is indolent, or slow growing, so it is unlikely to sneak up on me to become life threatening. Nevertheless, by the second treatment, the numbness went away completely - apparently the disease was impinging on a nerve in my lower lip for all of those years. By late 2021, I started playing my Bach 42B again - I never rejoined my old band, and I realized what a huge time commitment that was with my family, job, etc. but I resolved to play again one day again at my parish. And if y'all remember me, one of the biggest reasons I started playing euphonium was because of the Bach cello suites. I'm excited that I have a John Packer 274 headed my way - even 7 years ago, I was amazed that these clones were very nearly as good as the most premium instruments, and this Packer looks to be better than any of the clones I've ever played several years ago. I'm looking forward to it.
Looking forward to catching up with y'all - I certainly enjoyed the conversations over the years on the forum with Dave, Rick, Doug, and many others.
Cheers!
Scott
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