BY KELLY MALCOM, MICHIGAN MEDICINE
For 22 years, Howard Winchel polished and buffed propellers for Michigan Wheel, putting his heart and his back into his work. The manual labor eventually took a toll.
When his back first began to give him problems, he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis. Surgery to correct it was soon followed by two more operations for ruptured discs.
“I’ve been on hydrocodone ever since. I was on this stuff for 10 to 12 years,” he said.