SRS

The Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) is the creme de la creme of scoliosis surgeons world wide. Surgeons can be complex, intense and down right strange. Members of SRS are motivated by research and developing new ways to correct the spine. The fact that I enjoy and look forward to going to this conference makes me a little kooky as well.

This year it was held in San Antonio Texas on the river walk. Everyone told me how beautiful the river walk was and I was excited to experience it. The river walk resembles a secret city filled with restaurants and souvenir shops that winds around a river and runs underneath the streets of San Antonio. There is restaurant after restaurant lined up and the hosts stand outside shouting out with their specialty; many Tex-Mex and margaritas.

I did not find the river walk as lovely as most. It is a man made dirty river that you could easily fall into. There are no rails or walls to protect you. One trip, or push from a friend and into the duck infested water you go.

The most interesting part of this trip was the Europeans. Many surgeons come from Europe and they are not always used the American way. These men and women experienced the American culture, but were showered with the Texas culture.

Our last evening we were herded on to buses and driven to the country. We were given bandannas with the SRS logo applied. Watching men from the Netherlands trying to figure out what to do with a bandanna was a hoot. We arrived at a corral where they had quesadillas, margaritas and horse dung.

We watched a real rodeo, which is horrifying. Why in the world would you take orthopaedic surgeons to a place where bulls are bucking people off into the dirt and clowns are running away from the 500lb beasts. Those rodeo people are crazy. We watched a 12 year old little girl be bucked all around the corral by a crazy horse. I swore we were going to have take her to the hospital. She survived and seemed to enjoy the nonsense. These rodeo people start their babies out on sheep to prepare them for the rodeo life. To each his own!

After the trauma of the show we were herded up to a more civilized venue. There was a huge covered pavilion where they had a feast of ribs, brisket, bean, slaw and cobbler. It was paradise for any meat eating man, but the vegetarians in the group were limited to potatoes and beans. Dr. Jain, one of our surgeons from Cincinnati is Hindu and he weighs all of 90lbs. I think he is down to 80lb after his week in Texas.

There was a country music band, an armadillo petting zoo and a steer that you could be photographed on. Bryan and I decided to attempt the steer. I had a very polite cowboy help me onto the beast and wearing a dress and a hat I straddled that animal and prayed he would not move. He did, as soon as I sat on him he starts wiggling and snorting hot air through his nostrils. He could probably sense that we were Yankees.

The evening ended with line dancing lessons from the locals. I lined dance with a surgeon from Ireland. He was hilarious. His Irish accent and his attempts at dancing after several beers had me in tears from laughter. I would like Ireland.

Overall it was a great trip. I was able to connect with people who are passionate about helping patients with scoliosis. The great thing about conferences like the SRS are that regardless of where you came there is a common thread. Medicine is brilliant that way and I love being part of it.