I grew up in Columbia and attended Rock Bridge High School, where playing basketball sparked a lifelong interest in sports and staying active. I found myself paying attention to athletes’ injuries and wanting to understand how they happened and how they would recover. That curiosity eventually led me toward orthopedics.
After earning my undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas, I returned to Columbia for medical school and my orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Missouri. During residency, spine surgery stood out because of the impact I could have on patients experiencing significant pain and how dramatically their lives could improve. I completed a spine surgery fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham before joining JCMG.
When someone comes to see me, my goal isn’t simply to take care of an X-ray or MRI. It’s to take care of the person sitting in front of me. I want to understand who they are, how their condition affects their life, and what they hope to get back to doing. That helps me determine the treatment that makes the most sense for them.
Being a spine surgeon doesn’t mean surgery is always the answer. If surgery is the right path, I’m happy to help. If it isn’t, I want to guide patients toward another treatment that can get them the care they need.
When surgery is appropriate, I aim to be as minimally invasive as possible and preserve motion in the spine whenever I
can. My interests include minimally invasive and motion-preserving procedures, scoliosis, and revision surgery. Whether treatment is surgical or nonsurgical, my goal is to reduce pain, improve function, and help patients return to the activities they enjoy.
Outside of work, I stay active through weightlifting and golf and have competed in bodybuilding competitions. I also enjoy the everyday moments with my wife, Kaylee, and our young children, whether we’re cooking dinner together, having a movie night, or spending time outdoors as a family.
It’s easy to take some moments for granted because this is what I do every day. But seeing a patient come back feeling better and the smile on their face reminds me of the impact this work can have. Those moments can change my entire day for the better. Medicine is always changing, and we’re always learning. Every patient teaches me something new, and that’s one of the things I enjoy most about being a physician.