The Man Who Refused to Stop Dancing: Lionel’s Journey from Inmobility to Full Swing

Lionel's path to full mobility wasn't straightforward. After his initial fall, he objected to going to the hospital despite his wife's urging. He assured her that his back pain was something to be brushed off, a response that many of us unfortunately share. However, he knew that something drastic needed to happen before his symptoms got worse, and he would be rendered unable to take part in swing sessions with his grandson.

What makes Lionel's story remarkable isn’t just his recovery, but the lifestyle change he adopted during this time. While doctors suggested multiple surgeries for his back, hip, and neck, Lionel chose a different approach first. He replaced a red meat diet with one rich in greens and veggies, started juicing regularly, and developed a special anti-inflammatory tea. This developed discipline was directly attributed to his speedy recovery.

The results were remarkable: his rheumatoid arthritis symptoms all but disappeared, baffling his doctors.

"When I went to my doctor for my physical, she would say, 'I know you got rheumatoid arthritis, but I can't find any inflammation anywhere,'" Lionel explained. "She said, 'I don't know what you're doing, but whatever it is, keep it up."

While these lifestyle changes significantly improved his daily mobility, he was involved in three rear-end car accidents in the following years. These incidents worsened his pain, making his condition increasingly unbearable. All of this reached a critical point in 2019, on a rainy night on the beltway, when his injuries worsened.

The Turning Point

"The last thing I remember was that I was running into a wall of water," Lionel recalled. The accident left him unable to move his head without turning his entire body.

"The first thing when I went to therapy, they just about had to teach me how to walk all over again," he remembered.

Surgery had been suggested, but Lionel remained hesitant. He understood that once you are opened up, there is no going back, and the risk of his condition worsening only increased. Instead, he opted for intensive physical therapy, carefully monitoring his symptoms. However, after six months of regular visits, he realized this approach was no longer sufficient. It all changed one evening when Lionel was driving home, when suddenly and to his horror, his hands stopped working. "By the time I pulled up in my driveway, I was having to use my elbows because both of my hands wouldn't work," he recalled.

After visiting Advanced Diagnostics Healthcare System's River Oaks Hospital and Clinics, he was referred to Dr. Rubin Bashir, director of the Precision Reconstructive Spine and Orthopedics, a department that focuses on readjusting patients’ previous back procedures and injuries.

Lionel listened as Dr. Bashir reviewed his MRI and X-rays in detail, assuring him that he needed surgery immediately to prevent paralysis. Two discs in his neck had to be removed and fused before it was too late. Lionel understood that swift medical action was essential, and he could no longer rely on physical therapy and a healthy lifestyle.

The surgery lasted just 90 minutes. When Lionel woke up, to his and his doctors' surprise, the difference was immediate and dramatic, a prime example being that he went in for surgery on Saturday and was back to work on Monday.

"I was able to use my hands," he said with wonder in his voice. "I couldn't use my hands before, and my body hurt everywhere. But after surgery, it was totally gone the moment I opened my eyes."

About Dr. Bashir and the ADHS team, he recalls, "They did an excellent job and took care of me. They treated me like a king!"

When Lionel returned for his one-week follow-up, the surgeon told him that no one had gone under the knife and recovered that quickly. While the success rate for Precision Reconstructive Spine & Orthopedics was flawless, the speed of Lionel’s recovery went against Dr. Bashir's experience.

Lionel and Dr. Bashir credited his rapid recovery to his years of healthy living and his in home remedies. "I think that's the reason why I was able to heal so fast," he explained. "I just had surgery two weeks ago, and I was back at work by week three."

For Lionel, the true test wasn't just physical recovery, but whether he could return to his passion: DFW Swingout dancing with his grandson. Before surgery, he couldn't make it halfway through a song without running out of steam. But with his new body, Lionel decided to test his limits.

"I said I'm going to try and do a couple moves to test the waters," he recalled. "I ended up dancing all night long."

The surgery had restored what worried him most: his wind, his breath, his stamina to perform. He was teaching again, continuing a tradition that included his family and the DFW Swingou community. He credits all of this to Advanced Diagnostics and their vision of getting him back to baseline.

When asked about his remarkable recovery, Lionel pointed to consistency. "Everything I do now is like clockwork," he said. His anti-inflammatory routine, his movement practice, and his commitment to putting only beneficial things in his body had all become second nature.

"Inflammation comes from food," he explained. "I'm making sure I'm putting stuff in my body to fight inflammation while I'm sleeping. That's when the arthritis moves through your body when you're sleeping. That's why when you wake up, you're hurting. Now, I wake up, I'm not hurting."

His family, including his wife and children, had adopted many of his practices, using his herbal teas and juicing protocols to support their own health battles, including cancer. It was tough to get them on the same path, he recalls, but they cannot argue with results.

Lionel emphasized that his story isn’t about choosing between natural healing and modern medicine; it is about preparing your body to work with medical intervention if it ever arises.

"Medical advancements can work with a healthy person to make a healthy body," he reflected. "Educate yourself. Get healthy before they get you healthy. If not, then you’re fighting fire with fire."

Today, Lionel continues his work as a transportation driver, which he has been doing over twenty-five years. Every first Sunday of the month, you can find him at the local dance hall, teaching and dancing with his grandson and the DFW Swingout community.

When asked what comes next, he simply stated, "I'm going to dance until I can't dance. Nothing more. Nothing less," with a smile.

Lionel Johnson received his cervical spinal fusion surgery from Dr. Rubin Bashir at Precision Reconstructive Spine and Orthopedics, part of Advanced Diagnostics Healthcare System. For more information about spinal care services, visit Advanced Diagnostics Healthcare System.