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Tank birthday and I'm a Geezer

Paul B

NJRC Member
So this morning, like all mornings I went for a walk. Normally I walk for about an hour and I go early, way before the sun comes up because I am walking for exercise and I think exercise is a waste of time so I want to get it over with before the world gets up so I don't waste any time. I am very impatient so my wife, and many people call me the Energizer Bunny although I rather think of myself more like Brad Pitt.

Some people call me McGuiver while others just don't call me. :(

Anyway, a few weeks ago I had some back work done where the pain Mgt Dr. did an ablation on the nerves in my back.

They go in there with some kind of torch or toaster and burn whatever they can find. After that she gave me 16 shots of cortisone and maybe hydrogen peroxide but it could have been Coppersafe.

Those procedures made me feel about 74% better and I no longer scream or walk like a blue legged hermit crab. But the Dr. told me the procedure doesn't actually fix the pain. My disks and ligaments are still torn to shreds, I just don't feel it as much because the pain signals don't make it to my brain. They probably get stuck somewhere in between. Maybe my elbow or someplace that you don't need as much as your back.

But this morning during my walk, right under this light, the pain signals found a new route to my brain. My brain doesn't have much free space because it is filled with fish stuff, steam punk stuff, Pumpkin pie and supermodels.

IMG_1921.JPG

All of a sudden, I hit the ground. I looked around to see if maybe my wife stuck a cro bar in between the ribs as it doubled me over and made me go down on one knee. (good thing it was my right knee because my left knee is titanium and it may have made a spark) Anyone driving past would have thought I was making a novena or praying for hair. But I wasn't.

It was just pain. I was thinking of who I could call if I couldn't get up and screaming wouldn't help because at 6:30 everyone is sleeping and if I woke them up, they would be screaming at me which would have made the pain worse. I didn't want to call my wife because she has MS and I normally help her. I imagine she could have brought me some chicken soup and I never saw a chicken with a back ache so maybe it would have worked.

I stood there, or rather knelt there for about 5 minutes and tried to get up. Nope, I couldn't move. I didn't want to stay there too long because it was very cold and icicles started to form on my nose. I slooooly made it up to a standing position and gradually put one foot in front of the other. I was only about 100 yards from my house so I stuffed my Very Manly looking red scarf into my mouth to muffle my screams.



It started to get light out and I gradually, but painfully made it to my house. I stood in the doorway for a time while I figured out how I was going to take off my boots, jacket, gloves etc. I couldn't stand there with all these winter clothes on because now I was sweating profusely partly because it is hot in my house and partly because of the pain.

I made it in and tried to lay on the bed. I couldn't figure out how to get on the bed so I called my wife who immediately knew something was wrong and started to make chicken soup. I said, no, just try to bend me slowly so I can lay down.

I was in the bed in a sort of pretzel fetal position and didn't dare to move. I asked her to bring me a tens pack. If you never had that it is a small device with wires and pads sticking out of it. You stick the pads on you near the pain and it shocks you. I don't know how it works and I doubt anyone else does but I imagine the shocks this thing gives you fools your brain into thinking that these shocks are worse than your other pain but I am not sure. I am an electrician so probably don't feel the shocks like everyone else does.

I had her stick these sticky pads on my back and I turned it on and tried to move. No, not yet so I turned it up and tried again. Nope, not yet. So I turned it all the way up until smoke started to come out of my eyes like those old western movies where the Indians used to make smoke signals to tell other Indians things like their internet was out or Lidel is selling brussel sprouts for 39 cents a pound. :oops:

I took some pain medication that I had left over from my last surgery and was going to rub that slimy stuff on that makes you smell like a Christmas tree. I didn't have any of that so I asked my wife to get one of those Christmas tree air fresheners that I had hanging on the rear view mirror of my car and hung it around my neck. That did the trick. :D
 

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MadReefer

Vice President
Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
So this morning, like all mornings I went for a walk. Normally I walk for about an hour and I go early, way before the sun comes up because I am walking for exercise and I think exercise is a waste of time so I want to get it over with before the world gets up so I don't waste any time. I am very impatient so my wife, and many people call me the Energizer Bunny although I rather think of myself more like Brad Pitt.

Some people call me McGuiver while others just don't call me. :(

Anyway, a few weeks ago I had some back work done where the pain Mgt Dr. did an ablation on the nerves in my back.

They go in there with some kind of torch or toaster and burn whatever they can find. After that she gave me 16 shots of cortisone and maybe hydrogen peroxide but it could have been Coppersafe.

Those procedures made me feel about 74% better and I no longer scream or walk like a blue legged hermit crab. But the Dr. told me the procedure doesn't actually fix the pain. My disks and ligaments are still torn to shreds, I just don't feel it as much because the pain signals don't make it to my brain. They probably get stuck somewhere in between. Maybe my elbow or someplace that you don't need as much as your back.

But this morning during my walk, right under this light, the pain signals found a new route to my brain. My brain doesn't have much free space because it is filled with fish stuff, steam punk stuff, Pumpkin pie and supermodels.

View attachment 54158

All of a sudden, I hit the ground. I looked around to see if maybe my wife stuck a cro bar in between the ribs as it doubled me over and made me go down on one knee. (good thing it was my right knee because my left knee is titanium and it may have made a spark) Anyone driving past would have thought I was making a novena or praying for hair. But I wasn't.

It was just pain. I was thinking of who I could call if I couldn't get up and screaming wouldn't help because at 6:30 everyone is sleeping and if I woke them up, they would be screaming at me which would have made the pain worse. I didn't want to call my wife because she has MS and I normally help her. I imagine she could have brought me some chicken soup and I never saw a chicken with a back ache so maybe it would have worked.

I stood there, or rather knelt there for about 5 minutes and tried to get up. Nope, I couldn't move. I didn't want to stay there too long because it was very cold and icicles started to form on my nose. I slooooly made it up to a standing position and gradually put one foot in front of the other. I was only about 100 yards from my house so I stuffed my Very Manly looking red scarf into my mouth to muffle my screams.



It started to get light out and I gradually, but painfully made it to my house. I stood in the doorway for a time while I figured out how I was going to take off my boots, jacket, gloves etc. I couldn't stand there with all these winter clothes on because now I was sweating profusely partly because it is hot in my house and partly because of the pain.

I made it in and tried to lay on the bed. I couldn't figure out how to get on the bed so I called my wife who immediately knew something was wrong and started to make chicken soup. I said, no, just try to bend me slowly so I can lay down.

I was in the bed in a sort of pretzel fetal position and didn't dare to move. I asked her to bring me a tens pack. If you never had that it is a small device with wires and pads sticking out of it. You stick the pads on you near the pain and it shocks you. I don't know how it works and I doubt anyone else does but I imagine the shocks this thing gives you fools your brain into thinking that these shocks are worse than your other pain but I am not sure. I am an electrician so probably don't feel the shocks like everyone else does.

I had her stick these sticky pads on my back and I turned it on and tried to move. No, not yet so I turned it up and tried again. Nope, not yet. So I turned it all the way up until smoke started to come out of my eyes like those old western movies where the Indians used to make smoke signals to tell other Indians things like their internet was out or Lidel is selling brussel sprouts for 39 cents a pound. :oops:

I took some pain medication that I had left over from my last surgery and was going to rub that slimy stuff on that makes you smell like a Christmas tree. I didn't have any of that so I asked my wife to get one of those Christmas tree air fresheners that I had hanging on the rear view mirror of my car and hung it around my neck. That did the trick. :D
Sorry to hear that but glad you feel better.
 

diana a

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
Oh Paul! Hope you are feeling better.

I went for my morning walk (5:00) today before work. It wasn’t too cold out. Shortly after I got to work (6:30) it started snowing. I have no windows to see what goes on outside. Management sent everyone home at 10:00 AM. You would have thought there was a blizzard going on. Streets were clean.
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
Thank you Diana. Now I am walking upright more like an arrow crab. The narcotics, pain meds, tens pack, cold compresses, back brace and Christmas tree smelling sticky pads seems to have worked. :D

I don't normally get that severe pain while I am walking, usually it waits until I get home for it to hit. This is a normal part of old age for people who had a physical job and didn't sit in an office all day looking at the ceiling going "Doot Da Doo- Doot Da Doo" until five o'clock.

If you get to my age and didn't have 10 or 20 surgeries, you didn't work hard enough or have enough fun. :eek2:

So far internally I am great (I think) I am going for a physical Monday just to make sure and I hope you are feeling fantastic. I can always count on you to read all my scribblings. :eagerness:
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
We got about an eighth of an inch of snow this morning. They will probably close the airports and call out the national Guard or the Boy Scouts. :)
 

diana a

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
State of Emergency in NJ.
Think we have 3 maybe 4 inches of snow.
This is sissy snow. It use to snow deep years ago. Most don't know/remember how deep it use to get here. There isn't enough snow to make a proper Snow Man.... :whistling: so sorry that was probably politically incorrect...Snow Person:oo:
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
OMG Diana. You made so many enemies by saying "SnowMan". After all, there are Snow Ladies, Snow Females, Snow Women and probably Snow Taylor Swifts. :D

The Hair on those Snow females is probably made of linguine because snow hair may be difficult to make unless you put "product" in it but that may make the snow hair sticky so after the "snow person" melts the hair may stay there until spring and become a slipping hazard. If it becomes a slipping hazzard one of the "snowflakes" may fall and sue the snow person but they would have to be quick before the head melts.
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
My back needs to get better because I just received a letter asking me If I wanted to be Honored for my service in Viet Nam with a bunch of other Veterans from WW2 and Korea. They will fly us to Washington DC on what is called an Honor Flight, where we will tour the WW2, Korea and Viet Nam monuments. There will be an Honorary Dinner and I assume some speeches and other things.

There is a chance I won't go because I think they ask more people than can fit because many of these guys are very old and may be to sick (or worse) to go. But I filled out the papers just in case. I am pretty excited. :biggrin:

I hope it's not on that plane where the door fell off. :confused:
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
Thats correct Diana. Millenniums don't now what real snow is. Yesterday they predicted this "Blizzard" here. They salted the streets and brought out the big plows. We got about 1/16th of an inch of "snow" and they made a big deal out of it.

This was me in about 1972 making a ton of money.....I mean plowing snow. :D (yes, I had hair) That Willys Jeep cost me $700.00 and I made $1,800.00 that day alone and over a thousand dollars every time it snowed which was every week. $1,800.00 in those days was like 2 months salary as an apprentice electrician when I was bringing home about $54.00 a week. :biggrin:
Minimum wage was I think $1,25. an hour and we worked 35 hours.
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
On another note, and more exciting for me, I just got a call from a Local Long Island News station. They may want to do a story on me and that 10 year old woman that wrote me a Christmas card while I was in Viet Nam 55 years ago.

They want to film the meeting of the two of us because I didn't meet her yet. They are calling her to coordinate it. Of course it could fizzle out and maybe they will do a story on another cat that got stuck in a sewer or fell out of a Boeing plane. I will probably find out in a few days.

All sorts of cool things happening this week.
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
Good morning. I didn't go walking this morning like I normally do and it has nothing to do with the ice covered ground and 22 degree temperatures. Last night around 5:00 my back went totally out. I am not sure who it went out with but I wish it would go out again and stay out.

Again I couldn't move without screaming (but it was a very low pitched, Manly scream, more like a Roar)
My wife got scared and wanted to call an ambulance. I wouldn't let her because of a couple of reasons. Hospitals have no clue what to do with a back ache except to call a surgeon who will cut a huge hole in your back and look around a bit with a big flashlight trying to find something wrong.

If they can't find something, they will remove something just so they can bill the insurance company a million dollars and in a week when you get home, you will still have the same pain, only worse now because they sewed part of a tire iron in between your ribs in the hope that you are anemic and just need iron. :cool: (they will of course wash it first)

Also if you go to a hospital in a Saturday night the doctors are usually playing golf but now that the golf courses are covered in ice, they may be out ice skating or skiing and if you disturb them, and they have to operate on you, it won't go well, especially if they still have their ice skates on so you will lay there on a gurney in the hallway, eating stale chocolate chip cookies in front of a TV watching re runs of "I Love Lucy" until Monday. :eek2:

That happened to my wife the last time I took her to a hospital on a weekend. (I think they were Saltine crackers then but we have better insurance now) She was in the "emergency" room, on a gurney for 16 hours before someone that actually went to High School came to look at her. It happened to be the Lady who mops the floor but after her shift, she did get a doctor. :confused:

Then, eventually they operated and of course put in two steel rods. They could have been aluminum depending on what type of insurance you have.

On Sunday mornings we normally go to a diner for breakfast but I would have to eat standing up. I am standing up now and I would have to drive to the diner, standing up. I have a Jeep and it does have a moon roof so I would imagine I could open the roof and drive standing up with my head sticking out. At 22 degrees, when I got to the diner, they would have to put my head in the pizza oven to thaw me out enough to eat.

So if I end up in a hospital, I will try to hold off until Monday. I think I have enough Scotch and pain pills to tide me over until then. :oo:
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
MadReefer, I am trying very hard to stay out of a hospital as my wife needs me. (for everything) But I know some back surgery is in my near future. Especially if I want to do things like walk and sit. I have an appointment tomorrow for a physical but he is only a GP so won't be an expert on backs but maybe he can at least recommend a good neurosurgeon that specializes on backs. There is one in the same office as my pain Management doctor but it can take months to get to see one of those people and I don't think I have months.

But if I went to a hospital, they would get a surgeon right away, he may just not be the person I want digging around in my back if you know what I mean.
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
I did my walk this morning which may have been a mistake. All the YouTube video's I see (and we all know that the doctors on YouTube are the best) They say walking is the best thing for back pain. It hurts at first but you have to work through the pain and it will get better.

"Better" is a relative word and I have some relatives with bad backs. I am not sure how far you have to walk for the pain to get better but I had to buy a new pair of shoes before I got back because I wore them out.

One important thing I like to mention especially if you live in New York but other cities may be similar. When you pick a doctor, make sure you get a young one preferably right out of medical school because by the time you get an appointment to see them, they may retire.

If they retire before you see them, you may get their Grand Daughter who minored in Beyonce and got a degree in Podiatry. :rolleyes:
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
The Long Island News station called me a little while ago to tell me they are going to air my story of the "girl" who sent me a Christmas card in Viet Nam in 1970. She lives in New Jersey (near you guys) and as soon as she can get here, they will send a film crew here.

She is an executive and works 7 days a week although I don't know why anyone would have such a job. But whenever she can get 2 days off, she will come here. :)
 
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