Published: July 29, 2025
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Calling Charlie and Debbie Hinckley well traveled would be an understatement.
“We’ve got the map of [the] U.S., and we’ve probably got 50% of it done,” Charlie said. “We have it in our bedroom as a reminder of all the places we’ve been together, and the places we still have yet to visit.”
Their traveling traditions started decades ago. Charlie spent more than 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, serving at air bases not just across the country, but also in Okinawa, Japan, and in Iceland. When Charlie retired in 1993, he and Debbie set out to accomplish their goal of visiting all 50 states.
With about 30 crossed off the list, the couple set their sights on South Dakota: the Badlands and Mount Rushmore. The iconic American landmark carved into the Black Hills is something Charlie always dreamed of visiting. But the retired airman’s chance to see the granite sculpture had one major hurdle to clear.
Charlie started having back pain years ago. It slowly — but surely — limited him. By the time summer 2024 rolled around, it was unbearable.
“[I was] on a walker, guaranteed, and not walking very much at all,” Charlie said. “I probably could do enough steps to walk to get something to eat and go back to the chair or lie down. That’s it. Flat on my back is where I lived.”
It took a toll on Debbie too, who assumed the role of full-time caregiver. She tended to Charlie during his bad days — helping him get up and get around the house, all the while keeping track of his pain medication schedule.
“Any time you watch a loved one degenerate, it’s painful,” she said. “You watch it, and you try to be their cheerleader, and you try to say, ‘This too shall pass.’ But it is very difficult. And it was difficult for me to not get depressed as well. But I just kept trying to say, ‘We’re going to get through this. We just have to keep trying.’”
Charlie’s pain worsened to the point of no return. He knew he needed a permanent fix.
In fall 2024, he visited Charles H. Crawford III, M.D., orthopedic spine surgeon with Norton Leatherman Spine.
Dr. Crawford diagnosed Charlie with several issues. Most notably, he had degenerative scoliosis and spinal arthritis, also known as spondylosis. He also was experiencing multilevel stenosis, or narrowing of the space between the vertebrae. The nerves near the bottom of Charlie’s spinal cord were being compressed, causing pain, numbness and difficulty walking. Lastly, Charlie was diagnosed with thoracic myelopathy, or compression of the spinal cord in the thoracic (mid-back) part of the spine.
In short, Charlie needed help — fast. Dr. Crawford recommended surgery.
“Charlie and his wife are such incredibly kind people,” Dr. Crawford said. “He had a really debilitating issue that was progressively getting worse. And I knew it would require a big surgery to help him. And these bigger, more complex surgeries require a big team — before, during and after. So we wanted to make sure we crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s and got him ready for surgery.”
“When I heard what I needed, I said to Dr. Crawford, ‘If you can fix it, fix it at all costs,’” Charlie said. “I was just at that point.”
In November 2024, Dr. Crawford performed a successful two-day, two-part spinal fusion, correcting Charlie’s scoliosis, decompressing his spine and relieving his excruciating pain.
“We removed some of the lamina bone, the back of the spine, that was pinching the nerves,” Dr. Crawford said. “We also removed parts of some discs. From there, we began rebuilding the spine. It’s like a building that’s collapsing. We need to rebuild and realign the structure. So, we used screws and rods to straighten the spine and hold it in its normal, anatomical position. That way, when Charlie — or any other patient — stands up, his spine is no longer collapsing and putting pressure on the nerves, but it stays in its good position.”
Charlie progressed quickly. After a few months with a walker, some medication for residual pain and a few restrictions, he was back on two feet for good.
“I’ll tell you, I couldn’t really walk,” Charlie said. “Before surgery, I needed a walker to get around; I was bent over. I just couldn’t do it. And after surgery, I got rid of my walker very quickly and started getting back to my life.”
Now it was time to pull out that U.S. map and reset their sights on their destination — Mount Rushmore. The Hinckleys rebooked their trip, and in May 2025 finally got to cross South Dakota off their list.
“At Mount Rushmore, they’ve got 422 stairs on the Presidential Trail,” Charlie said. “That stopped me in my tracks, and I was like, ‘Might as well see if I can do it.’ And we had already decided that if I couldn’t do it, [we would] turn around and walk back the way we came. I ended up doing it, feeling great about the whole thing — and that’s when I decided surgery was over. Mentally, I had cleared the hurdle.”
Now, almost 60 days since their trip, Charlie’s back continues to respond well. He and Debbie continue to be active. The two walk roughly 10,000 steps a day and already have the next trip planned. They both know their travels, for a while, seemed like they’d be stopped in their tracks. But thanks to the right surgeon and the right procedure, their future is brighter than ever.
“The way I describe it is that it gave us our life back,” Charlie said. “I was extremely depressed, and at one point I came to the conclusion that even if something bad happened to me, I’d prefer to be with the Lord than the way that I was going with my back. And I have told many, many people, if they’re going to have back surgery, they need to go to this man.”
“It’s one of the best parts of my job, seeing our patients after surgery and seeing how much their function improves, their quality of life improves,” Dr. Crawford said. “We try to quantify these things, but sometimes just seeing the smile and getting the hug from the patient is worth more than anything.”