| Author | Message | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1716 Registered: 10-2006 |
As you may (or may not) recall, 4 years ago I had surgery to remove a cyst from inside my spinal canal, which required removal of parts of a couple of vertebrę. It went wonderfully (well, except for the pain - but it went away, and so did the pain from the cyst). All was well, & the Dr. assured me it would remain so as long as I refrained from things like football, skydiving, and heavy labor. The no skydiving was a drag - always wanted to try that & never got around to it - but I was quite OK with the rest. Except no one was hiring historians, archivists, or soundmen, and they were hiring assembly line workers. Like any red-blooded All-American boy, I had on my "WWJWD?" bracelet (What would John Wayne do?) so I spent 3 months building car seats before I couldn't take it anymore. Can you say "Spondylolisthesis"? No, neither can I, but I can assure you don't want it. (I'll save you the Google - it means "the forward displacement of a vertabra, usually L-5") As it turns out, having my hands hurt too much to play guitar the entire time wasn't the worst of it; turns out the guy knew whereof he spoke. Now (after 2 years of agony & opioids) I have insurance again (thank you, Barak) and so Tuesday I get to go have L-3 & L-4 fused. Ain't we got fun? Peter (who promises to swallow his macho better next time) | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 2191 Registered: 9-2002 |
As someone who regularly rotates thru 'Rio Grande', 'She Wore a Yellow Ribbon', 'Fort Apache', and 'The Searchers' (often mixed with 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'), JW would have said 'listen to your doctor, Pilgrim'. (Of course he also said, 'Well baby sister, if I had a big old horse pistol like that, I wouldn't be afraid of no booger man' Words to live by !) I have had to realize that as I am speeding towards 60, that I just don't bounce like I used to, and try as I might, there's just things I have to do very carefully that I would have roared thru without a second thought 20 years ago. My only real concern on a motorcycle isn't getting in an accident per se, but IF I did how long would it take me to get over it. Probably a lot longer than I can imagine . . . or my vanity would like to admit. I have people I have to take care of, and if I don't come home, what will they do? Once that really, really dawned on me, it was a lot easier to let the swashbuckling go. I guess I'm not too old to dance on the piano, but I'm getting a little long in the tooth to swing from chandeliers anymore. But damn do I hate to admit it ! So . . . get this fixed, heal up, and remember: Old Age and Treachery . . . . . J o e y | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 3543 Registered: 10-2002 |
good luck with the Op peter. Fingers crossed you'll be jumping out of airplanes in no time at all. Graeme | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 11385 Registered: 5-2002 |
Peter; hoping all goes well for you. | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 3475 Registered: 5-2009 |
Peter __ I send my best wishes for the best possible results. May healing and recovery lead you to writing and sharing such good news with us soon. I always enjoy reading your posts and look forward to many more years of the such ____ Healing vibes to you <<(({{------- Wolf | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 5778 Registered: 7-2004 |
Peter: With 60 on the next horizon, I've decided that, while getting older may suck, it sure as hell beats the alternative! I may still be able to party late into the night, but I can't make that 9:00 a.m. class the next morning anymore. lol Good luck with the surgery. Take your time re-habbing and get back to that Alembic when you can. Good vibes from the west coast. Bill, tgo | ||
| pauldo
Senior Member Username: pauldo Post Number: 1190 Registered: 6-2006 |
Peter, Well wishes and healing thoughts for you. | ||
| artswork99
Moderator Username: artswork99 Post Number: 1992 Registered: 7-2007 |
Wishes for a speedy recovery! | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1717 Registered: 10-2006 |
I dunno, Joey - watch Eldorado (or maybe it was Rio Bravo; I get those 2 confused as they're really the same flick) where JW goes into the big showdown with an arm not working. Thanks for the wishes, all. Went out tonight & played an open mic, as last time it was 6 weeks before I could even pick up an acoustic (did "Pamela Brown", "Louise" & "Last Lonely Eagle" - none of them particularly well) . Peter | ||
| dead_head
Junior Username: dead_head Post Number: 13 Registered: 5-2014 |
Best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery, Peter. The Duke once said privately when he was facing his own serious health issues and the constant media scrutiny: "Never let 'em know you're hurtin'." Good Luck. | ||
| peoplechipper
Senior Member Username: peoplechipper Post Number: 436 Registered: 2-2009 |
Peter, good luck! I have two smushed vertebrae (L1&2) that I just lived with...a long story but it went undiagnosed for a while and I deal with it all the time...oh well, I'm still going... | ||
| 5a_quilt_top
Advanced Member Username: 5a_quilt_top Post Number: 311 Registered: 6-2012 |
Pre and post healing vibes sent from AZ. I know from personal experience that back pain ain't no fun. Best wishes for a successful procedure and unevent-FULL recovery. | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1718 Registered: 10-2006 |
Well, I'm home (since Thursday), and doing well. I must say 48 hours on a dilaudid pump is not without it's charms, but probably best if that's all of that for a while......... This one is turning out to be a fair bit less debilitating than the last; a week in last time & I could just make it the width of our lot with a cane; today I made it around the corner and halfway down that block & back with neither stick nor problem. And, best of all, this time only the Duolian & Sheraton are off limits at this point! Thanks to all for the thoughts! Peter | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1719 Registered: 10-2006 |
oops - doubled up (Message edited by coZmik_cowboy on June 29, 2014) | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 3489 Registered: 5-2009 |
Hang in there Peter , I am happy to read your positive post . Now you have the time and inclination to do lots of listening and relaxing to music. This one is always a blast ___ https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead Wolf | ||
| pauldo
Senior Member Username: pauldo Post Number: 1201 Registered: 6-2006 |
Thanks for the update Peter. Well wishes for the future. | ||
| artswork99
Moderator Username: artswork99 Post Number: 1993 Registered: 7-2007 |
Glad to hear it's been a positive recovery! Wishing more of the same. | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 1642 Registered: 11-2004 |
Good to hear it, Peter. I have a fused vertebrae as well. Walk as much as you can and as is allowed by the doctor. Staying mobile really helped my recovery. Good luck and listen to your body... when it needs a break, take one. | ||
| jcdlc72
Advanced Member Username: jcdlc72 Post Number: 346 Registered: 11-2009 |
Good to know it went well!. Sending my best vibrations for a speedy and healthy recovery! | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 11399 Registered: 5-2002 |
Good to hear from you Peter! I agree with Toby; walking and listening. | ||
| dead_head
Junior Username: dead_head Post Number: 15 Registered: 5-2014 |
Glad to hear the good news, Peter. Hope it's a speedy and complete recovery for you. | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 2199 Registered: 9-2002 |
Love the drip ! I had abdominal surgery several years ago, and afterward I'm back in the room for a few days. They'd put the CALL NURSE button on a cord next to my shoulder, as well as an 'on demand' button for a Demerol IV right next to it, in case I started hurting. Well . . . . I thought I was pressing the Nurse button. KEPT pressing it, 'where the hell is she?'. Actually, I'd gotten them reversed and I kept pressing the Demerol. She just happened to walk in a few minutes later and I saw FOUR of her, two of her on the ceiling. I babbled something that sorta sounded like "so bibn't shoe weir ne krawling juze???" and she figured it out, and clipped the call button to my gown, and put the button for Big D in the night table drawer. . . . Glad you're doing better ! J o e y | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 2200 Registered: 9-2002 |
BTW: The one-armed Winchester roll off the wagon and shoot the bad guy scene is 'Eldorado'. J o e y | ||
| 5a_quilt_top
Advanced Member Username: 5a_quilt_top Post Number: 315 Registered: 6-2012 |
Glad to hear you're on the mend, but be careful with that self-administered IV drip. Several years ago I worked in a prison and one of the inmates, a former doctor (not named "Robert"...), told me why he was there. Seems that he and two of his friends liked to go to his cabin for weekend getaways where the featured activity was sitting in recliners watching TV while hooked up to IV drips filled with various narcotic cocktails custom-mixed by the doc. Of course a good time was had by all...right up until the day that one of the three failed to wake up. Goodbye medical practice, hello correctional institution. | ||
| peoplechipper
Senior Member Username: peoplechipper Post Number: 441 Registered: 2-2009 |
WHOAW! crazy and sad story...damn, so many times that recreational drug use can go wrong, but professional drug users getting it wrong and ruining their lives and killing others) that is terrible...Tony | ||
| peoplechipper
Senior Member Username: peoplechipper Post Number: 442 Registered: 2-2009 |
WHOAW! crazy and sad story...damn, so many times that recreational drug use can go wrong, but professional drug users getting it wrong and ruining their lives (and killing others) that is terrible...Tony | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1723 Registered: 10-2006 |
Yeah, I loved the drip - but while I could click all I wanted, it would only dose every 6 minutes ("beep-beep-beep" "Damn!" "beep-beep-beep" "Damn!" "Beep" "AAHHHH!" "beep-beeep-beep" Damn!") Last surgery the drip was morphine; Bah, humbug! And Demerol, while nice, ain't in the same league. Without having tried the latter, I am still confident asserting that dilaudid is the next-best thing to heroin* - and if heroin actually is better, keep that stuff the f*** AWAY from me, or I'll go all Keef in no time flat! It's enough to make me glad I hate needles, I tell ya. Next hurdle - I've been eating Norco & Tramadol like M&Ms for 4 years; now off them & on to post-op Percocets - with no refills. This ain't gonna be fun, boys & girls - but I am looking forward to having my head clear for more natural meds! And Friday I get to see my grandson - and can't pick him up! Guess ol' Granddude'll have to sit and have Nona hand him over. And recovery continues apace; still feel like someone's been punching me about the kidneys, but a couple days ago it felt like they used a 2X4. (Yes, I'm walking more each day; thanks for the tip, as the hooker told the leper) And a friend is weighing his Sheraton & Teles so I know if I'm OK picking up mine. Weird thing about how our bodies react; yesterday I decided to see if I could get through 3 songs for the open mic, and I didn't go - my fingers just have no fluidity yet. She says it's the Percies, but I know my body & my drugs well enough to know it's the trauma. Who'da thunk it? Peter *When they told me what it was, I smiled; wife asks "What's dilaudid?" I answer as above, she shakes head disapprovingly & disbelievingly. A little later she's talking to our youngest who, shortly before I joined here, was on the wrong end of a bicycle/SUV collision, with fairly dire results (from which he is, I am happy to report, 99.9999% recovered) that had him clicking this stuff for 2 weeks. She tells him what I'm on, he says "Cool!" "Why?" she asks. "'Cause he won't hurt; that shit's the next-best thing to heroin!" No, we did not rehearse the line. | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1736 Registered: 10-2006 |
Staples & sutures out 2 days ago; can lift 10lb with each arm instead of total. Dr. says 1) I heal amazingly fast and 2) the fusion is set enough I can't screw it up. I still feel like someone screwed something into my spine, but all pre-op problems have been obliterated (even when i over-do it like today, going to a 4-yo's birthday party, & trimming a tree, i just feel like a sore back. Down side? I'm in day 2 with no narcotics after 4 years. This sucks hard, peter | ||
| jcdlc72
Advanced Member Username: jcdlc72 Post Number: 358 Registered: 11-2009 |
YAY! Congrats! | ||
| flpete1uw
Advanced Member Username: flpete1uw Post Number: 333 Registered: 11-2011 |
Peter, Your an inspiration! Congrats! Round 2 post meds will be but a short term challenge Pete | ||
| flpete1uw
Advanced Member Username: flpete1uw Post Number: 334 Registered: 11-2011 |
Peter, Your an inspiration! Congrats! Round 2 post meds will be but a short term challenge Pete | ||
| pace
Senior Member Username: pace Post Number: 1045 Registered: 4-2004 |
Good luck recovering, Pete! I can't imagine living w that sort of discomfort for any length of time. | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 11424 Registered: 5-2002 |
Good to hear the positive report. | ||
| kilowatt
Intermediate Member Username: kilowatt Post Number: 136 Registered: 12-2004 |
Pete, That Dilaudid is mean stuff! They hit me with two loads of it when I had a Pancreatic attack about 12 years ago. Told me that I would be fine if I lived through the night. I felt the second shot running into my veins. Don't think that I could function for very long with that in my system. Glad to hear that you are on the mend. Regards, Pete |
