Life in Mexico.

[jhwalker]

Am back home. Was feeling great a couple of days ago. I was trying to run Monday, it was not horrible. Then Monday night, in town, on cobblestones, I slipped off a tall slick curb and faceplanted, landing half in the road and 1/2 on the sidewalk. managed to turn my head and avoid turning into a pug but sprained my already bad wrist, tore the "dead meat" shoulder trying to break the fall, whacked a knee and twisted my back. A car barely missed running over me. Terri freaked out, I was highly pissed at the fall, so it is back to rehab and 2-3 hours a day trying to prepare for the May 17 track event in Nebraska. I have not tried to ride the off-road bicycle yet. meow. I MUST stop setting myself back. One error undoes weeks of progress. My friend who owns the track says he will close the track for my first few laps. Wait until he sees me
But we are booking flights, booking room. WTF. Only live once.

[xbacksideslider]

Sh*t. Work hard. get to NE.

[Tetge]

About six weeks ago, or so, while descending down my extension ladder from the neighbor's tree, with a cheap little Harbor Freight electric chain saw in one hand, I miscalculated and thought that I'd arrived at the bottom rung of the ladder. When I stepped off, onto the supposed concrete driveway, it was such an unexpected long step down that I lost my balance and could not stagger backward sufficiently to regain it. So, I took a nasty tumble onto mostly my right side and back onto the concrete. I did manage to toss the chain saw to one side, and, I caught myself with my right hand and wrist so my head didn't smack the concrete. At least I was dressed appropriately for using a chain saw, so I got no pavement rash.

In any case, I laughed it off at the time, but, six weeks later, I am still sore and still healing. I am making progress for sure, but, my back still is sore and my right wrist still can hurt if I put too much strain on it. It seems that is takes a very long time for me to recover these days, and that includes any superficial cuts and bruises that one seems unable to avoid if one does any mechanical work, or even yard maintenance. Even a hangover can be created with far less booze and can linger on longer, not that I drink.

So, I now have arrived at a state that I previous observed, but never paid much attention to. When I get to the curb, to cross a street, I take a lot of time with that first step off of the curb. And, I try to watch for sidewalk heaves and pot holes full of water and slippery surfaces, etc. Falling, it turns out, has done in many an oldster. And, rehab is never easy, but it is really difficult for older folks, especially those who are accustomed to being very active. I know, for instance, that my brother is frustrated by his continued inability to ride his bicycle. But, rehab on a total knee replacement can be a lengthy process, and, he is learning that there is a price for pushing too hard. A painful price, and also a setback to full recovery. So, I am getting very cautious, and, some days, I don't stand at all, as one can't fall too far if one is sitting down or laying down.

So, be careful and take your time as the real objective is steady progress as that improves both your physical well being and your mental well being.

[jhwalker]

Yesterday I started rehabbing in the swimming pool, and as usual I overdid it. I can barely move. I will cut it down to 1 hour tomorrow.

[jhwalker]

Well, our old dog Canela ate an animal that we think was poisoned and proceeded to throw up all over the living room -- and seems a little mo frisky

I'm still recovering from the faceplant. and from working out too hard on the rehab drills

in the pool. Life is good.

What's going on in the USA?

[xbacksideslider]

Im scheduled for the 4th for my 4 level cervical laminoplasty but I'm equivocating . . .

Life in Mexico? Nah, Life when Old . . . .

[SonicVenum]

Ouch, sorry to hear about all the boo-boos for your older folk. Just makes me think I need to work harder now to avoid more pain later on, and after a certain age, I want to invest a nice bubble to live in. That should keep me safe. Worked for a young John Travolta, right?

[Tetge]

Im scheduled for the 4th for my 4 level cervical laminoplasty but I'm equivocating . . .

Life in Mexico? Nah, Life when Old . . . .

I first saw a surgeon 7 or 8 years before I finally got my hip replaced. The surgeon told me that he would do the replacement immediately and that I wasn't getting any younger, so waiting could present some additional risks. But, it was still only pain, so, I equivocated (what a fine word!) until it got to the point that I couldn't almost walk and I could not swing my leg over my DR-Z anymore. Then, and only then, did I finally get the surgery. It still went well, in spite of my advanced age, and I am basically pain free now, but the same surgeon did the surgery, and, during the 7 year wait he adopted another surgical approach completely different than the one he would have used initially, which was a new method that he was trained on in med school and that he initially was quite enthusiastic about. His change back to a more traditional approach was based upon his on the job experiences, and, also, during my delay the prosthetic hip assembly also improved as medicine continues to make advances all the time. Even anesthesiology made advances, which was welcome, since I never have done well with the after effects of being knocked out for an extended period of time. They routinely do a spinal block in combination with knocking you out which means that it is not as painful and not as intrusive as it was previously.

So, waiting was a mixed bag, but it paid off in my case. But, at some point, if something is painful or limiting enough, it forces you to attend to it. As another example, I might add that my brother put off a total knee replacement until he was no longer able to even function at a vastly reduced level. It seems that people who have a one man business really do not wish to be laid up as the consequence of surgery. Now, his rehab is coming along a bit slowly since he waited so long and favored the bad knee so much that there was atrophy to deal with. It even added another 50% to the time that he was knocked out in surgery as the surgeon fiddled with various tendons and stuff to get them to stretch enough to do the knee replacement. But, the word is that ultimately, with a lot of painful rehab, he will be in great shape and able to resume bicycle and motorcycle riding.

But, only you can evaluate how badly you want/need corrective surgery. One assumes that you must need it, because you are scheduled for it. But, the old common sense rule of if it is not broke, don't fix it, certainly applies, especially since they are always making advances in surgical procedures. And, of course, there are no guarantees at all when it involves the back or neck or spine since there are nerves involved, and, they have not figured out how to fix nerves, as they are quite delicate.

[xbacksideslider]

Tetge, thanks for that.

The boogie man chasing me, as I am told, is potential paralysis of one or both of my arms or hands (or worse), which upon immediate but subsequent surgery has a 40% chance of restoration of function. I have some neck pain, tingling and weakness in left hand and thumb, pain in left arm, and tingling in my right hand. These symptoms have gotten worse over time. Further, I may already have some issues with my legs . . . . I don't know if its just age or spinal stenosis. The MRI pics of spinal cord are scary.

[jhwalker]

That's no bueno. Keep us posted. Where ncould you find a better group to bounce options off?