I'd Give My Left ___ For a Flippin Break

[stetto]

Fercryinoutloud.

I turned 50 last October and it's like I immediately begin to fall apart.

Carpal surgery--Meningioma--Rotten disposition (oops, nevermind, politics)--And now I find my dammed spine wants to add it's two cents to the adventure.

I had an MRI in 2003 that revealed a buldging disc between the C6 and C7 cervical. Uncomfortable but manageable, as long as I "took it easy".

I made it 7 years.

The MRI I had last month was a lesson in NOT "taking it easy". Not only has the disc ruptured and is now poking out on three sides of the vertebra, EVERY cervical disc is ruptured and to top it off I've developed arthritic spurs all over the damm place.

...I can still walk without the lightningbolts shooting down my arms, but not much else.

I had an epidural yesterday. It actually did wonders, but it's a temporary relief. I go for another in a month, and will begin phys therapy as soon as they can "fit me in".

I found out that surgical options have advanced bookoo in the last 7 years as well. They no longer resort to simply fusing the spine.

Here's to hoping the insurance holds out...

Speaking of back problems, has anyone heard from moT lately?

[Onepoint]

Well that sucks.  Can't you just call Obama and have it fixed now? 

I am looking up my warranty expiration date as I type. 

[stetto]

I wouldn't bother with the warranty, unless you bought extended coverage. I thought, in my indestructible youth, that I was indestructable. The warranty only covers the drive-train...

...Oh, and remember the anti-seizure drugs I hated so much? They put me back on them, they're supposedly anti-nerve pain drugs as well...

The wife's lookin' to trade me in, but wants a loaner til she finds the right model....

[balsum fractus]

Dang..thats not good since it is the only spine you will ever have... My wife is going through the falling apart bit too..jpints, back, etc etc.....  I got a mild wake up call awhile ago when I noticed a lot of folks my age were dying off......hmmmm that's not good, I guess I am vulnerable to natures chronological wrath...so I am trying to force myself to take better care of the ol' chassis while it is still in running condition...

[jetmex]

That rotten disposition thing seems to be pretty prevalent these days.  If you want to see really special cases of that, check out the average airline employee......

I feel for you amigo.  The only thing that really bothers me these days is my hands, from the arthritis and the accumulated damage from swinging wrenches and banging on keyboards all these years.  Sometimes I think I keep the Tylenol people in business.

Get that back taken care of ASAP.  Let me know when you do, so I can call and harass you now and again...

[stetto]

The effects of the epidural steroid injections are really settling in, as I expected. Those of you concerned for any chances for me to take up a professional sports pursuit need not be, I've had several of these injections in the last 10 years or so (though all of them in my shoulder), so I blew it on that point a long time ago.

As is usual with the steroids, my back feels almost brand new, and will until the magic sauce wears off (about a month). There is a down side to this. I'm now feeling the urge to get some things done, and knowing me I'll forget that my back's a mess. The doc even said as he pulled the needle out of my spine "We aren't fixing anything. This is a temporary relief."

So, just like my shoulder, I am likely to make things worse in the next month, being impervious to pain. That happened with my shoulder as well, except that I was able to rehabilitate the shoulder with 10 weeks of physical therapy. I'm s'posed to do that with my back, and will actually have the same therapist I had for my shoulder.

Today I'm going to plant 3 maple trees (O Cana-DAH!) and a couple hedge-type bushes (aspen lace or some such foo foo), then I'm going to work on finishing my recording studio, which ain't gonna happen but I can get it closer. Terrin's office is done but for carpet, and I refuse to lay carpet. Once that's in though, I'll have yet another room to remodel after moving her office furniture out of the sittingroom/library.

So thus is my dilemma. Terrin can't follow me around with a switch and I won't remember to "take it easy". There's just too much to do.

Oh, and then Monday comes. I have three backed-up customers who demand my presence this next week. Cha-ching! comes at a price...

[Onepoint]

Yeah, funny how people expect something for their money.

Do try and remeber you are not superman for a bit though.

[balsum fractus]

Maybe you should take up a low impact vocation...like a Librarian......

or teach the stettolings how to swing a hammer, wield a paintbrush, or lay carpet......

[balsum fractus]

How's is going Stetto? any relief yet??

[stetto]

Well Nony, I guess the broader answer would be "no". I was, as predicted, pain free...For just about a week. But whether it's lingering effects of the steroid, the effect of the meds (gabapenton, another mind-clouding seizure drug), or the magic hands of my physical therapist Keri Jo, the edge has definitely been taken off...

The "toothache" is ever-present, the right arm can be downright useless at times, and it's still an epic adventure to sneeze, but the lightning bolt shooting pain is less and I've actually slept through the night a few times.

...But I can't seem to get in more than a four hour work day.

There are folks who have it much worse than I, I know this, but we just bought this fercryinoutloud moneypit and I not only have the endless task of remodelling ALL of it and making it watertight, I have to find a way to pay for all of this...

I go back in a week from tomorrow for another big needle in my spine. I can't wait.

...Heh heh heh, but thanks for asking...

[Onepoint]

Yeah, wait until parts start to fall off, then it gets real fun. 

[stetto]

Yeah, wait until parts start to fall off, then it gets real fun. 

Yeah sure, but you cheated...

[Onepoint]

Hey,  the early bird gets he worm...if you want a worm. 

[balsum fractus]

maybe he was impatient....

[stetto]

I bet you guys are as tired of hearing about this stuff as I am having it happen to me.

Another development. The short of it: I've lost almost 60% of the use of my right arm and they aren't sure if I'll get it back.

I've been seeing Keri Jo twice a week since my last post, and had another spinal injection last Thursday. Keri has taken to "targeting" trigger points in my shoulder, as insane a back rub as I've ever had. But the results were really good.

A day after the last massage and a few days before the injection I "noticed" that I couldn't light my cigars with my right hand; the signal went from brain to thumb, but the thumb played dumb. The next day I started dropping things.

There's no numbness or pain, just a refusal of my arm from the elbow down to perform as ordered. Oh, it tries, but it's like a mild palsy.

It doesn't feel worse than the first week, but I'm told by them who know that it is. They also tell me that repairing this kind of nerve damage is a 50/50 proposition...

They are "re-evaluating" me as a candidate for surgery. I don't see the doc again until late August, so it will be at least that long...Almost as long as it took me to type this. I have to get my other fingers out of the way so they quit adding letters to my words. Backspace has become my go-to key...

The good news: They aren't sure if it's not an inflamation issue, but another MRI will be necessary...In late August.

Yes, I'm still trying to work. I've found a new friend for my cigar lighter opposite my right hand...It is doing more and more these days.

I can still play guitar, my left hand does most of the work anyway, but my buddies up here say I need to get my sh!t together and start recording stuff.

Dominoes, man, dominoes...





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