From Back Pain to Snowboarding: Hybrid Spine Surgery Success

Chris Denkers came to spine surgeon Dr. Good in severe pain. An active person, Chris wanted to get better not just for himself but also to keep up with his kids. Chris and his wife Laura have extraordinary 15-year-old identical twin boys, Wyatt and Riley, who have cystic fibrosis. This genetic disease affects their lungs, growth, and more. The family has faced many challenges, managing the boys’ breathing treatments and other health issues. After years of struggle, they found a medicine that significantly improved the boys’ health. As Wyatt and Riley started to feel better, they discovered a passion for snowboarding. They qualified for nationals and now compete at a high level across the country.

A Father’s Determination

Chris, who had skied earlier in life, started skiing again to keep up with his boys. Before he knew it, at the age of 39, he was helping coach his kids’ team and then he started competing himself. “Parents aren’t allowed at the top of the mountain and we were extra worried with our kids just wanting to be there after they’d been through so much health-wise, so I decided I needed to become an athlete so I could be with them,” Chris explains.

Battling Back Pain and Its Impact on Daily Life

Chris says back pain had plagued him off and on for a long time, but the more he was on the mountain with his kids and competing himself, the worse it got. “I was in severe pain every day. I could barely walk and function. Standing in ski boots on snow, which is on an uneven surface, just kind of made it worse. After about five or ten minutes of either walking or just standing, my legs would go completely numb,” Chris explains. “It got to the point that I brought a small, compact camping chair with me everywhere on the mountain so I could sit while coaching or watching the kids ski. Nobody does that so I was really self-conscious about it. I’ve always been athletic and here I have to sit on the mountain. It never felt good.”

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A Life-Changing Choice for Hybrid Spine Surgery

That’s when Chris reached out to Dr. Good and sought medical care. In June 2024, Dr. Good performed a hybrid spine surgery — two surgeries, two days apart — an artificial disc replacement and a spinal fusion. Chris says, after a decade of pain, he knew as soon as he woke up that he was better. “I had incision pain but not back pain and instantly, I had no more numbness — even that first day when I was walking around the hospital,” Chris says. “For as big of a surgery as this was, to me it wasn’t that bad.”

Preparing for a New Ski Season During Recovery

Chris took it easy for three months to let his body heal and he now expects to be back on the mountain in early December with his family for the start of a new ski season. He says back surgery may seem scary to some, but not being able to keep up with your kids is much worse.

Advice for Parents: Navigating Pain and Surgical Options

“We’re the type of people that just go, go, go. We don’t stop and our kids are the same way. For others out there if they’re the same way — the individual solutions may be different for different people, but the bottom line is, in your 40s, you’re not supposed to give up chasing your kids at that point, right?” Chris says. “What we’ve always loved about skiing and snowboarding is it’s just something we can do as a family. We’re all out on the mountain. We’re all going around and I didn’t want to lose any of that. My kids are healthy now and pushing beyond their limit and healing themselves so I need to be there to see it.”

Tips on Overcoming Pain and Seeking Treatment

• Seek Out Multiple Opinions: The first doctors he saw said he was too young for surgery but that just isn’t true. Don’t live with pain. Keep searching for new opinions until you find doctors who can help you.
• Explore Your Surgical Options: Chris was worried a fusion would limit mobility but combining a spinal fusion with a disc replacement solved that issue for him.
• Ask for Data: If you’re on the fence about surgery — your doctor should be able to provide you with a lot of things to help you figure out if you really need surgery — nerve tests, a discography report, x-rays, MRIs — it should be more than just an opinion shared with you.
• Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back: It’s okay to be afraid of surgery, but don’t let that keep you from investigating it if you’re told you need it.

“I was definitely nervous leading up to it, but once it happened, I just instantly knew that it was the right choice,” Chris says. “For someone who’s as active as I am, it was tough for me to sit three months out and let the kids and Laura kind of do everything. But it’s a short period of time to heal so you have the long-term time to do what you want to do with your kids.”

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