- July 03, 2023 After more than 30 years of building houses, I transitioned to my true passion: knife forging. It’s an art that requires long hours standing at specialized equipment, shaping steel into blades, and I loved every moment of it—until I hurt my shoulder. One day, while working at my surface grinder, I felt a searing pain in my shoulder, like a knife had been driven into it. The pain was unbearable, and I couldn’t even lift my arm to do simple tasks like brushing my teeth. After seeing my doctor, I was referred to Dr. Brian Cole at Midwest Orthopaedics at RUSH. Dr. Cole quickly diagnosed a tear in my shoulder and explained how a cyst was compressing a nerve, causing the pain. He reassured me he’d do everything he could to get me back to the forge. After surgery and physical therapy, my shoulder healed completely, and within a year, I was back in my shop, pain-free and stronger than before. To thank Dr. Cole and his amazing team, I crafted a special French quillon dagger, which I presented to him as a token of my gratitude. Dr. Cole’s care didn’t just heal my shoulder; it gave me my craft—and my life—back.
