April-May 2005
Spring in Alaska. The days are getting longer and the snow is melting. Getting started on all the summer projects.
Late April, early May I cut down a bunch of big cottonwood trees to make into siding for the house. Got them all out to the road just before the frost went out of the ground. Rather than saw them onsite I think I am going to have them hauled to the mill. I can manage a few hours of labor but not all day long.
Last couple weeks have been spent working in the garden and on the yard. Got the garden all roto-tilled and had 10 loads of top soil delivered. I thot I'd get some excercise by moving the dirt with a shovel and wheel borrow. I came to my senses and spread the dirt using the backhoe. I built a nice box scraper to drag behind the ATV and got it all smoothed out. It's ready to be rolled and seeded.
I also bought a weed wacker, a big one, the kind that requires a shoulder harness :-) When using the saw blade it'll cut down small trees. Then I made a "special" cutter than mows thru brush like it's cutting butter. A couple hours running that is about all I can take. Lots of twisting, turning and bending.
I've made 4 or 5 trips into the mountains on the ATV. Going further each time as the snow melts. Most of the trips have been to do trail work, cutting trees that have blown down across the trail (must have cut a hundred of'm) and digging ditches to drain the huge mud holes. Both my chainsaws are in the shop so last weekend Pati and I went on a fun ride. I had to promise not to work on the trail :-) Now we are waiting for the rivers to drop so they can be safely crossed and we can get further into the back country.
It's the time of year when the salmon start returning and fishing fever sets in. I got the little boat out (the big one is dead from lack of use) and tuned up the motor. That requires a 55 gallon drum filled with water to run the motor. Hefting the motor (100#) in and out was a chore but the low back held up fine.
I havn't been to the gym nearly as much as I would like but figure I'm getting lots of excercise just puttering round the house. Bad rationalization but that's where I'm at. The days are long and there is sooo much to do. My low back is doing great. It gets fatigued easy and often but no real pain to speak of. My mid back is giving me a fits and is usually what knocks me down. I figure I'll be talking to the docs about it before the summer is over.
March 20, 2005
Recovering from the flight home Friday. A storm in Minneapolis turned a nine hour flight into an eighteen hour adventure. We were rerouted thru Seattle and sat on the plane in Minni for three hours.
Reflecting on my six month checkup it seems like my recovery is pretty much self directed. I wonder if this is an intentional decision on the doctors part.
March 14-17, 2005
In Houston. Hours and hours of meetings. Not getting enough sleep, I don't seem to adjust to eastward travel quickly. LB very uncomfortable, especially at night.
March 11, 2005
Dr Zigler says everything looks good, that I am doing more than most folks at six months. He smiled and shook his head when told of the snowmobile ride the weekend before. I asked about the ability to replace the plastic in the prodisc. He said the plastic is easly removed but that scar tissue makes the procedure very risky. He thinks that maybe sometime in the future someone will have invented something to deal with scar tisse, some kind of spray or something.
March 10, 2005
Off to Dallas for my six month checkup and then to Houston for business.
March 8 & 9, 2005
LESSON LEARNED: LB sore. Sitting for extended periods seems to aggravate any prior activity, like snowmobiling :-( It seems like LB pain is worse when I don't excercise. Like everything contracts. Sitting in meetings makes it worse. So after activities like snowmobiling I need to go to the gym no matter how sore my legs, arms and shoulders are.
March 5, 2005
Rode my snowmobile all out today. First time in two years. 115 miles total. 40 miles of the trail was rough and bumpy, he kind of bumps that jar your teeth. It was a major work out. I was beat by the end of the day, no significant back pain. I really felt great compared to the last couple years when I could ride.
February 19-20, 2005
Worked as a trail support on the Susitna 100 race. It is one of those extreme muscle power races. Racers run, walk, ski or bike 100 miles thru the backcountry of Alaska. They go pretty much non-stop all weekend. Trail support folks ride the trail day and night providing emergency response and evac support. Turned out we were one team short so we slept about one out of every six hours. It was slow easy riding with lots of time for breaks. Got home about 1am on the 21st, tired but none the worse for wear.
Jan 9 - Feb 18
Where did the time go?
January 8, 2005
We went snowshoeing today. The event was part of a Winter Recreation Day event. Only walked a few miles. I carried a small backpack with some extra gear, about 10#. At the end my lower back was very fatigued, during some of the day my right foot had some pins and needles feelings. I am ready to rest on the couch :-)
January 6, 2005
More pain and discomfort than usual. Probably the most since surgery. By the end of the work day an almost constant pinching sort of pain in the left buttock. Clearly the result of the last few days. Any one of the days on its own would have been fine. The riding, excercising and shoveling back to back was too much...
January 5, 2005
Light workout, mostly the eliptical machine. The garage roof at the rental property was leaking into the downstairs apt. The roof had several inches of ice from the recent rains and about 6 inches of snow on top of that. I spent the evening shoveling, breaking ice and opening the drainage. It was very tiring.
January 4, 2005
Some residiual soreness and stiffness from the ride over the weekend. Worked out at the gym. Most of the time on the eliptical machine. Some light weights, lots of crunches and back extensions. Really felt great afterward.
January 2, 2005
Took the snogo out for a cruise. Rode 25 miles. Mostly easy trail but some that was serious bumps (none of these trails are groomed). Got a great workout. The new shock absorbers make for a smoother ride but they don't make the bumps go away.
December 3, 2004
Three month followup in Dallas, six more xrays... Everything looks good. Spent the next week in meetings in Houston.
November 10, 2004
I am working full-time and off the daily pain meds. My back is feels great. I can sit, stand and walk better than anytime in the last two years. I began excercising last week. Light weights and simple excercises. The last two months of inactivity took its toll.I have some "nerve" related discomforts that come and go. The last week it has been mostly in my right leg and foot. I figure these "pains" are normal considering the length of time the nerve root were compressed and the streching associated with the new discs.
October 17, 2004
Spent a few hours in the shop today, therapy :-) Changed the oil in one rig and made some minor repairs on the backhoe. In all about 4hrs of tinkering. Feel pretty good. Did a couple of light exercises just to cap the day off.
October 15, 2004, 6 weeks +
I've set one major goal, to be 100 miles out on the Iditarod Trail, on my snowmachine, when the dog teams come by, March 6 2005.
Progress is slow and steady, patience is something I lack! I went to work every day this week, 4-6 hrs a day. It's great getting back into the action. The drive, an hour each way, is no problem. I can go several hours w/o lying down to unload. Fortunately I can close my office door and lie down on the floor. I am still using the pain meds to get over the humps. I am weaning off the back brace, going for short walks around the office w/o it.
This morning I worked harder at streching my legs. It has been a very long time since I have been able to do leg streching excercises. I felt great for a couple of hours, jamin to the tunes during the ride to work :-) Later the discomfort set it, nothing new but clearly related to the amount of effort exerted. It is a tough balance, excercise/strech and know there will be pain and discomfort. I try and focus on the long term. It will take serious work to get over the abuse I put my back thru...
On wednesday 10/13 (maybe it was tuesday) I got home and the phones (and internet access!) were out. The road grader tore out our phone lines. The phone company would not come out till the next day to make repairs. In my typical stubborn style I told them I dig them up and fix it myself! I tied right into the phone companies pedestal to fix the broken line. Cutting wires in there I felt like one of those folks you see on TV defusing a bomb, cut the wrong wires and the neighbors come out screaming! For two hours I worked by the headlights of the pickup truck and when finished I was spent. Upon reflection I realized I walked, fast, back and forth to the shop, several times, getting wire and tools without any lower back pain!
Thanks for checking in. Don't hesitate to write.
October 10, 2004
Geez its been a week since my last update! I must be getting better :-) Friends and neighbors say I am moving better. Sometimes it's hard for me tell. Still taking pain meds tho not very much. I hope to work all week this week. As long as I can lay down every once it a while I do great. I'm ready to start tinkering in the shop. Got some maintenance on the backhoe to do before winter sets in. Seeing all the projects out there collect dust is kinda depressing so I've sort of stayed away from it.
October 3, 2004
The last few days seem like they have been full of activity. Thursday and Friday I went into the office for the afternoons. Saturday I spoke at a trail dedication cerimony and then went to lunch with friends. Pain med use is half of what it was a week ago. I just took a walk, 1 mile, and have not used the meds yet today.
Everyone asks "how are you?" A difficult question to answer because day to day progress is so slow and what do you compare this to?. So for now I say it still hurts and I feel like I will be much better than presurgery.
September 26, 2004
Signed into the Back Pain Support Group Discussion Forum. This is a moderated forum and takes at least 24hours before you get permission to view or post. I walked down to the neighbors house and back w/o any trouble or delays. About half mile each way. Really feeling pretty good. The folks placed is getting hammered by Hurricane Jeanne, fourth to hit'm.
September 25, 2004
Managed to walk around the house, shop and yard tho not as much as usual. Paying for the trip to town yesterday. Pain in rear continues...
September 24, 2004
Drove in to the office for lunch with the boys today. Started feeling uncomfortable after 30 miiles. It was a long lunch in an uncomfortable chair. I rested on my office floor before coming home. I felt like I pushed a little too much . I had significant discomfort in my left rear and increased the pain meds to match.
September 23, 2004
I am walking and driving now. Still on the pain med regime. I hope to return to work part-time next week.
September 12, 2004
Return to Alaska. Doc gave me a perscription for a wheelchair. The airlines, including security at DFW and OHare, gave great service.
September 2, 2004
Surgery at Texas Back Institute.