Neck surgery

[tinpalaceroach]

Here's the thing, on March 5th i'm going to have Cervical surgery of the neck to have two badly damaged and collapsed discs in my neck removed. in it's place i will get titanium pieces plus some other synthetic to replace the gel material. all of this and the constant pain resulted from a head on collision by a drug dealer being chased by cops at high speed in a 25mph zone next to the police dept. anyway i won't be able to use a neck strap after this is done and trying it now causes excruciating pain. what i would need to continue playing is another type strap for alto and tenor sax besides the usual harness type some people wear now. i can't be bothered by a harness unless it is something custom. can you recomend something that would work for me? i'm thinking something off the shoulder and neck area like the spin strap Bill Mecca uses, with that maybe i can get freedom and comfort i need to continue playing at least the bigger horns. thanks.

[ZephyrSax]

I'm not entirely sure, but here's a bump for you. Good luck in your search, and keep in good health.

[fluteypiccolosax]

im guessing a bassoon seat strap wouldnt work.........................

[Twombles62]

Oh ****! Good luck with the operation mate. I think a harness might be your best option though.

[bubblegirlsax]

Hi Dolphyo,

Sorry to hear about the accident. It must be horrible. My prayers will be with you during this difficult time.

The harness might be a good idea, as someone said. The weight is distributed more around your chest.

My only other idea is a specially created stand. A friend of mine in the Netherlands works with people with MS and Spinabifida. While you don't have those conditions, he does make stands for those with specific needs. He may be able to create a platform stand for you that will hold the weight of the sax for you to just stand in front of and play your sax. Really, with your injuries carrying the weight of such heavy instruments is not going to help your cause.

Ruud is in the Netherlands, but I'm sure he can make you something that can be disassembled for shipping. He's helped people in other countries before. You can see some of the inventions Ruud has done at http://mybreathmymusic.com/. For instance, for quadraplegics interested in woodwind instruments to help their lung health, he created the Magic Flute, which is a MIDI controller that is controlled by head movements. David, one of his patients, makes fantastic music this way.

Go to http://mybreathmymusic.com/index2.htm and you can see what other people he has helped. If you go to the email link you can contact him and explain what you're looking for. Tell him Season BubbleGirl sent you and I'm sure he'll do all he can for you. He's a wonderful man and is a pleasure to know.

S.

[milandro]

My sympathy and best wishes for your operation.
I have looked far and wide for some custom made products for you but I haven't found anything as radical as there should be on the market.
there is an older discussion here
http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=2820
but it offers more or less the same sort of products you hear all the time about.

To me , what you really need is a harness combined to a large soft belt (to take most of the weight even from your shoulders).
Good luck with your operation and your search!

[tinpalaceroach]

Thanks, Milandro, Bubblegirlsax, Twombles62,Fluteypiccolosax, Zephyrsax, for all your good wishes and suggestions on the harness strap. the special stands by Ruud is interesting idea but i'm not giving up yet. i think i;ll try a Walt Johnson shoulder strap or at least the BG shoulder strap and if i can reach Wittman-spinstrap i may look at that too. thanks.......

[Graftonsax]

While I don't know your exact condition or what type of fusion you are having, I had a lumbar fusion at one disc. As long as your young and relatively healthy it should fuse and you will be good as new, unfortunately it could be a year before that.
Until the mean time, on alto you could play between your legs if you don't already either get a cloth to put under the sax, and at times I've just gone without a neck strap. For tenor yea I think the other guys are steering you right, I play bari without a harness, but a guy in band uses one, I'll get with him on the brand and get back to you, its pretty well padded and fully adjustable. A lady I used to play with used something similar to what BG suggested, kept the tenor to the right basically sat it on a little stand. Get well though and do your best to listen to the restrictions your Dr. gives you.

[harmonizerNJ]

dolphyo,
Did you have the surgery? How are you feeling?