Note – this is an edited update from a post originally posted on August 22.
As you may or may not have noted, I haven’t done a lot of communication for nearly a year. It’s been about that long that I’ve been in a battle with pain. Let me say that I don’t like pain, and never have gotten used to it. Last September I ripped my right rotator cuff loose again and had surgery in November. Shortly thereafter I blogged that things were looking up, and planned to be back blogging and doing genealogy again from that point on. I did mention that my left arm tingled a bit, but at the time thought that this most likely had something to do with my rotator cuff issues, and expected it would just go away. Well… It didn’t go away, and I soon began having a deep ache in my left arm. I hate to admit it, but I’m pretty worthless when I am hurting. My worst pain was while setting at the computer. I did the bare-minimum to keep FRPC operational, and we actually got a few good books published during the period. I was able to go to the annual AAA high school reunion in May and saw many of my “old” classmates. It’s been 51 years since graduation in 1968. Patty and I also made the trip to the International German Genealogy Conference in Sacramento in June.
I’ve now come to realize that when I fell off a ladder in late August last year, tearing my right rotator cuff loose again, that I also badly damaged two disks in the upper area of my spine. Funny… It took me months to realize that all my shoulder, back, arms and hand issues all stemmed from that one accident. I was so homed in on having ripped my shoulder apart that the “left arm tingling” issue didn’t bother me all that much early-on… Duh.
After months of MRIs, physical therapy, and just waiting for doctors to be available, I had surgery on the cervical vertebrae of my spine (C5-C7) on August 8. The surgeon removed the bad disks (what was left of them), and fused my spine. At this updated writing, I’m about one month out from the surgery. Upon waking from the anesthesia (7 hours later), I soon realized that the arm-pain was gone – so the surgery had done its job. In discussing the procedure with the doctor later, he claimed that he had to pry two of the vertebrae apart with a spatiala, as the disk was totally mashed, making for a very unhappy nerve (thus much of the pain).
I still have a sore neck, but not all that bad. I am wearing a neck brace full time – and will for at least a couple more weeks. If you look closely at the picture, you can see where the doc made his incision (white bandage just below the brace) – in the front of my neck. The last two weeks I’ve been dealing with the nerves in my shoulders waking up. This I didn’t expect. Thursday was much better, and today (Friday) has also been good. Wednesday was the first day I’ve actually been to work a nearly full day (about 6-7 hours).
So… I am in the midst of “catching up.” I thank God that all went well with the surgery, and that I am on my way to recovery. Full recovery is expected to take about 90 days, but I can once again do my normal activities (with not lifting much of anything). A lot of things that I normally do didn’t get done the last few months, so I am in a bit of a scramble to get back on track. I am sure I will. Now that’s enough about me…
Hi Leland,
Glad to hear you are on the mend. Pain is a real PITA. The beard and mustache look good… I look forward to seeing you some day again. We are more homebound now with Linda using a wheelchair when we have to walk somewhere, and having Alzheimers. My family tree will never be finished.
Thanks for the note, Randy. It’s great to hear from you. You and I have been telling folks for years that their family tree will never be “finished,” so we’re in good company. Take care of Linda. I am sure that you are good at being a “caregiver.” And yes, I hope to see you again soon.
So glad to hear that you are progressing well. Yes, pain is a real PITA. I dealt with it for years with my hip, thinking that it was just old age. After moving to Reno I found a doctor that found the hip joint had been eaten up by arthritis. Had a full replacement and was back to work in two weeks, much to my co-workers amazement. Always miss you at Jamboree. We will meet again, here or in some other place!!
I know pain can really make a person depressed and is hard to put up with. So glad you are getting better and soon will be “out of the woods”. Take care of yourself. Patty would be SO upset! Love you and admire all you do! You are truely amazing!
This was very welcome news. I have always enjoyed your newsletters and value the books I’ve purchased from your company. I look forward to completion of the Swiss Canton books.
Leland,
Glad to hear you’re on the mend. I had missed your newsletter and looking forward to hearing from you again on a regular basis. Pain is not full or for the faint of heart. I’ve had injuries myself and not realized the full extent, so I can appreciate how you didn’t connect the dots. I’m the midst of another big move, after another six months ago, so I’ll be living on Tylenol, Lol. Looking forward to carving out some time for genealogy in between it all.