I apologize for the lateness of this post. Kerry is attending a Steadiness Clinic for the dogs and is not here to edit my post. As most are aware I promised to never release a blog post without first having her look at it. I have been going over it all morning and can find no scandalous thoughts or actionable comments. If you find any its not my fault.
Hit that Like and Restack button! I need the encouragement.
I thought an update on my lumbar spine SI joint issue is appropriate this week since people have been asking. If you didn’t see the original saga, you can find it here. https://johnjoconnell.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-two-clinics
I ended up at an ortho consult the ER had recommended. We borrowed a walker from the Senior Center so I could walk. Now, what I was doing could hardly be called walking. It was more like leaning on the walker and shuffling my feet in a controlled forward fall. The young, enthusiastic doc, who I liked a great deal, did a bunch of muscle testing, poking and prodding and it was obvious I had some strength deficits in my leg along with some “tender” spots. Those were the spots that when she touched them I yelped like one of our dogs getting hit with a porcupine’s tail. We also found that my big toe was ridiculously weak.
Now, my feet and toes have taken a beating over the years from horses and cows repeatedly stepping on them along with stepping on Legos in the dark, (Thanks Boys) so we need to take that into account when my toes and feet don’t work too well. Kerry thought my failed toe test was hilarious. She has always been jealous of my beautiful toes. In fact, she calls them Ape Toes that are suitable only for clinging to tree branches. I am an abused husband despite outward appearances.
Doc decided a MRI was in order and that I should go to physical therapy for them to evaluate my issues and start teaching me stretches, exercises and work on body mechanics to make sure I didn’t hurt myself more. Once she got back from a vacation, she would read the MRI and we could decide what further treatment was needed if any but there was one thing I needed to do immediately. If we were going to do any injections in my spine I would need to stop any blood thinning medication at least seven days ahead of time. The ortho’s wanted permission from my family doc to stop the medication, which in my case is one adult aspirin a day.
That’s right. I needed permission from the doctor who wouldn’t see me when this whole mess began because we missed “The Window.” (once again, read the saga from the link above) The same doc Kerry gave a bad review to. “Awkward”, as the kids say. I emailed my request to the office thinking this might be the most painless way to get permission and almost instantly I got an email back from a substitute doc who said he was covering and there was no problem stopping the aspirin. That was weird. Why the quick turn around?
A few days later, I got an unsigned letter from my doctor saying she is leaving the state. I was stunned. She was born and raised here. She always seemed happy with her practice. It was then that I realized this was the second doctor in one year that after I had seen them, they moved out of state. It makes me a little paranoid. Am I a career killer? Is the sight of me in a hospital gown that grotesque? There is no need to answer that.
In the meantime, I had my MRI read and as usual, it was good and bad news. My disc looked OK for an arthritic, broken down, abused by his wife, retired horseshoer, which is good news. However, I have a cyst that was impinging on the nerve that ran down my leg which is bad news. The good news was that all my stretching and strength work at PT and home was paying dividends, and I was mostly pain free. The bad news was that I have strength deficits so I have to sit down a lot. We decided to put off any injecting or hacking at my spine with a scalpel for the time being which is good news. However, if all my work with PT doesn’t make the problem at least tolerable we will need to do something more invasive which would be bad news.
Fine, I’ll stop with the Good News/Bad News thing. Boy, you people are picky.
I came home today from PT, and I think the therapist is trying to kill me in the process of making me strong. It’s also possible she has heard about my reputation for driving medical professionals out of state and is taking revenge on behalf of the group. We are investigating.
At any rate, I need to get better because the weather is getting improving and outdoor activities are beginning. I sent off a random soil sampling of our yard to be analyzed. Our soil is pretty awful and needs amending. I think we have decided to turn the front lawn into a show piece to make the neighbors jealous (They are already jealous of Kerry’s daffodils.) and the back yard will be a work in progress at all times for the rest of our lives. I need to plant more trees, especially fruit trees, and grow grass in the way back that the original owners let turn to weeds for some unknown reason. Of course I need to help the Head Gardener with the vegetable patch and the Sun Garden. What is the Sun Garden? That’s the flower bed that is in full sun all day at our 4500 feet of elevation. Lots of flowers cant handle that much heat, light and dogs blasting across the bed. Those that survive make us happy. Our soil also makes tree selection difficult.
Our volunteer Canadian Cherries we dug up from the flower beds and planted in the yard look great and are budding out. The Linden or Basswood tree we planted as a yard centerpiece is also looking great. The flowering crab in the front yard just keeps on rolling. It seem to be completely resistant to Fire Blight and the purplish fruit are a bird favorite.
All the bonsai trees we have potted up in the garage survived the winter well. The Japanese Maples are leafed out and the Larches are putting out their needles. We dug up a volunteer Meteor Cherry tree that the birds planted by a downspout. This cherry is the one that does so well in the backyard producing prodigious amounts of fruit. We decided to bonsai it and potted it up in a big plastic pot. We trimmed and shaped it just last week and it is producing buds already. Kerry planted it using her secret bonsai soil to help root development and is thrilled. It will be about three or four feet tall and the trunk movement is fantastic. The birds did a good job.
I am still trying to eliminate as much lawn as possible. I think its a waste of time, water, fertilizer and gasoline. Instead of mowing, I would rather be fishing or working dogs. Of course if I had a ride on lawn mower I might think differently. If you want to set up a Go Fund me thing for a mower, be my guest. My favorite color for ride on mowers is green with a yellow deer located on the hood. Oh, and don’t be cheap with the attachments.
I feel your pain John, surging back pain can bring you to your knees. So sorry that you are still struggling. I’ve had both hips replaced and lower back surgery so I know where you’re coming from, Ouch! An orthopedic surgeon and neurosurgeon performed my back surgery. I had great success with all surgeries if that helps. Keep your chin up kiddo!
Thanks for the update, John! I love your sense of humor, and the daffodils. Hang in there with the PT!