An active lifestyle has been important to me throughout my life. But after I severely injured my neck and head,  I questioned whether I would ever be able to enjoy sports or be active again.

Shortly after suffering injuries, I began to experience constant, agonizing pain in my neck and shoulder, there was a deterioration in manual dexterity and fine manipulation skills with my left hand, and I had difficulty moving, all of which caused a precipitous decline in the quality of my life. I felt as though I were constantly being injured and was in physical distress.

Two large disc protrusions were revealed by MRIs.  After learning of the disc protrusions, I embarked on a 1-1/2 year journey of treatment options without success: sports medicine, physical therapy and rehabilitation programs, consultations at the Mayo Clinic and elsewhere throughout the United States, surgical consults, epidural injections (interlaminar and transforminal), facet injections, trigger point injections, massage, chiropractic, traction, and medications.  In spite of my commitment to getting better, my condition deteriorated to the point where the one entire side of my body was enormously tense, including my hip, leg and foot. I began to lose proprioception in my foot, and I ambulated with an irregular gait.  My functionality was worsening every day.

This was very shocking to me. I then consulted with another neurosurgeon and had more MRIs.  The MRIs now revealed possible spinal cord involvement.  I underwent a multi-level discectomy and fusion at the Barrow Neurological Institute.  Since then, I have spent over a year rehabilitating and the process has been revealing for me, always too slow, but with a great deal of progress over time. I am now again able to enjoy skiing, racquet sports, hiking, mountain biking, swimming and jogging in moderation.  I still have limitations and struggles, and I know that my condition can be aggravated if I do not maintain optimum health and fitness possible.

The majority of my clients are dentists and physicians, and many of them have suffer from conditions similar to mine. At my job as an attorney, I can continue to work—if I drop an item or am experiencing pain, I can stretch or take a break, then resume working.  However, if I were a medical professional, I wouldn’t be able to sustain positioning for extended periods of time, each and every day, and would be worried about the safety of my patients.

I am strongly committed to my clients and practice, am sympathetic to physical limitations that others may not fully understand, and use my experience to provide my clients with the results they deserve.  My firm, Comitz | Beethe, provides representation to professionals throughout metropolitan Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Tucson, Flagstaff and Yuma.