Not that anyone is asking

Murrmurr said:
So I just got back from seeing my back surgeon and it's all good news.

He said the surgery he wants to do will solve the walking issues. The latest images clearly show the exact problem. He said it couldn't be more clear, and not only will he not have to implant another rod, he won't even have to open me up!

He'll poke a hole in both sides of my torso at the L3 level, where one end of the vertebra immediately above there has collapsed, then stick a hollow rod into one hole and out the other, and, as he put it, "jack up that baby up and secure it into place." This will be about a 3hr surgery, instead of 4 to 6 hrs if it was open, which is awesome as hell.

More good news is that the bone is super dense. He was really excited about that; "Practically like marble," he said. "You rarely see bone that solid in people your age." (maybe because I grew up on a dairy farm)
But we'll still do a density study, if for no other reason than to record it.

Surgery will be in 4 or 5 months...he's all booked up til then. Meanwhile, he told me keep walking as much as I can every day, and do these leg exercises he gave me, to limit muscle loss. He gave me the usual speech about how surgery is never a guarantee, and there are risks, and all that. But then he leaned toward me, and said, "You're gonna land on your feet running, Frank. No question."

I'm super stoked.
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I bet you're over the moon at this news Frank..... I mean you've been suffering this pain ever worse day after day, month after month year after year.. with no end in sight...

You must beyond..excited.. finally a light at the end of that tunnel... (y)🧡
 

hollydolly said:
I bet you're over the moon at this news Frank..... I mean you've been suffering this pain ever worse day after day, month after month year after year.. with no end in sight...

You must beyond..excited.. finally a light at the end of that tunnel... (y)🧡
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This new approach is called Oblique Lumbar Interbody Surgery (OLIS), and a study says it's becoming "a preferred technique by specially trained spine surgeons to repair discs and vertebrae, with less damage to surrounding muscles, tissues, organs, and bones." They can even remove and replace damaged discs and bones, put in bone grafts or spacers, and screws, rods and plates, all through a small hole in your side.

That fascinates me.

There's way less recuperation time, you heal a lot quicker, and the scars are just a couple of dots. I don't think I even have to go back to have sutures removed.

Of course, the best part is, I'll be back on my feet....probly just a day or 2 after.

boogie GIF.gif
 
Murrmurr said:
So I just got back from seeing my back surgeon and it's all good news.

He said the surgery he wants to do will solve the walking issues. The latest images clearly show the exact problem. He said it couldn't be more clear, and not only will he not have to implant another rod, he won't even have to open me up!

He'll poke a hole in both sides of my torso at the L3 level, where one end of the vertebra immediately above there has collapsed, then stick a hollow rod into one hole and out the other, and, as he put it, "jack up that baby up and secure it into place." This will be about a 3hr surgery, instead of 4 to 6 hrs if it was open, which is awesome as hell.

More good news is that the bone is super dense. He was really excited about that; "Practically like marble," he said. "You rarely see bone that solid in people your age." (maybe because I grew up on a dairy farm)
But we'll still do a density study, if for no other reason than to record it.

Surgery will be in 4 or 5 months...he's all booked up til then. Meanwhile, he told me keep walking as much as I can every day, and do these leg exercises he gave me, to limit muscle loss. He gave me the usual speech about how surgery is never a guarantee, and there are risks, and all that. But then he leaned toward me, and said, "You're gonna land on your feet running, Frank. No question."

I'm super stoked.
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Great news! We're all so happy for you! 💐
 
Lewkat said:
Gee Frank, I wish I were about 20 yrs. younger, I'd go for it. May you dance like Astaire when all is said and done.
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I feel too old for another surgery right now...well, some days I do, but I know that's just self-pity. If I put my mind to it, I can be really good at self-pity.

I'm getting out of shape pretty fast from sitting around here chain-smoking and not eating right, but so far, I'm keeping up on my exercises pretty well. Mornings are really rough, though. I swear the pain is as bad as when I first busted my spine (probably not true, but it's bad), so I really have to push myself to get through the morning exercises.

Surgery won't be til Nov, they said, or maybe Dec. I just need to keep my head in the game til then. Some days that's not so easy. But I guess it's not the end of the world if I start at 10am instead of 8.
 
Murrmur, you're such a positive guy.
Whilst I've been here quite a while, I've never 'spoken' with you.
You've been through so much and quite honestly, you're up there with folk I truly admire.
Wishing all good luck to you petal.
 
Murrmurr said:
I feel too old for another surgery right now...well, some days I do, but I know that's just self-pity. If I put my mind to it, I can be really good at self-pity.

I'm getting out of shape pretty fast from sitting around here chain-smoking and not eating right, but so far, I'm keeping up on my exercises pretty well. Mornings are really rough, though. I swear the pain is as bad as when I first busted my spine (probably not true, but it's bad), so I really have to push myself to get through the morning exercises.

Surgery won't be til Nov, they said, or maybe Dec. I just need to keep my head in the game til then. Some days that's not so easy. But I guess it's not the end of the world if I start at 10am instead of 8.
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You are a lot younger than I am, friend. Now listen to this old nurse, please get rid of the smokes, including that phony japing stuff. I did it and while it was tough, I am lucky to be alive at my age of 92. Not that I haven't paid in some manner or other, but, it could have been much worse. As for eating evil foods, try to get a good diet going. Surgery likes slim patients. Trust me.

Try some senior sitting yoga exercises. They are easy and very beneficial.

At any rate, I know how pain can get one down, and it is very depressing, but look what you have to look forward to. I have pain 24/7, try to occupy myself in order to ignore much of it.

I am happy you have this great opportunity ahead of you. God bless, Frank.
 
So last Saturday, while me and Michelle were at the local grocery store, I ran into an old neighbor who still lives at the apartment complex where we were pretty good friends, and I invited him over to the house. So, we’re sitting out on the back patio, having some iced-tea, catching up and talking about old times, and Michelle came out a few times to sit in on the conversation, and it was all good.

After shooting the breeze for maybe a couple hours, Jason said he needed to scoot, so I gave him my number and me and Meesh told him he should stop by again sometime. And that was it. Nice visit.

But soon as he left, I knew something was off with Michelle…she was scowling and kind of banging things around while she straightened out the kitchen and whatever, and giving me the cold shoulder the whole time.

So, naturally, I asked her "What’s wrong?"

And she turned to me with a look of utter disgust, and said, “Bella? Really, Frank….Bella?”

Jason had briefly mentioned Bella in a snippet of our conversation...something like "Hey, didn't you have a thing with Bella for a while?" She was a lady who lived just above me at the apartments the first couple years I lived there. She was from Brazil, I think. Or maybe Argentina, I don’t remember. She was unmarried, around 50, and a chiquita full of salsa, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, apparently, when Michelle said, “Really, Frank….Bella?”, I should have said anything besides, “Why, what’s wrong with Bella?”

Michelle named about a dozen things right off the top of her head. I just sat with my RADAR up in case she mentioned an STD or two, but that didn’t happen, and the rest didn’t matter because it was just a friends-with-benefits arrangement. Plus, it ended when Bella moved away (in with her boyfriend) and that was about 2 years before I met Michelle.

In fact, I had no idea until Saturday that Michelle had ever crossed paths with Bella. I thought Michelle didn’t move to the complex until months after Bella moved away. Not that that matters, even in this context, I just didn’t realize Meesh lived there that long.

Anyway, doesn’t matter; the thing is, Michelle still isn’t talking to me. And I don’t get it. Why is this bothering her so much? It was years ago, it was a casual relationship, and it was well before I met her...Michelle.

I’ve asked her why she’s so angry about it, but she just comes back with things like, “God, Frank, you’re such an idiot.”
…you know, stuff I already know. 😝

So what gives? What’d I do wrong? Why’s she so mad, and what the hell am I supposed to say to make her not-mad?
 
Maybe Michelle knows something about Bella that you don’t. Well not maybe, Michelle obviously does. Any chance that Bella had a part time job on the side? Spent a lot of extra time with other neighbours? Maybe some of them were married? It’s things like that make a woman spitting mad.
 
Jules said:
Maybe Michelle knows something about Bella that you don’t. Well not maybe, Michelle obviously does. Any chance that Bella had a part time job on the side? Spent a lot of extra time with other neighbours? Maybe some of them were married? It’s things like that make a woman spitting mad.
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That makes sense, but why wouldn't she just tell me when I asked? Is this one of those things wives think you just magically know already?

Kidding aside, for her to be so mad she won't even talk to me, can I assume that Bella did or said something to Michelle that wasn't nice? If so, my guess is it was probably racial. Meesh is bi-racial, and her Black roots are pretty obvious. And Bella was(is) prejudiced. But she knew my great-grandmother was Black and it didn't seem to bother her at all. Plus, Meesh is not sensitive about that....so that's probably not it. But it could be something personal.

Bella did *spend time* with a couple other neighbors before me, but I don't know why that would upset Michelle...except you did say things like that make a woman spitting mad, so I'll take your word for it.

Do you think this will blow over? Or should I keep insisting we talk about it?
 
Whatever it is Michelle’s angry about, just believe that it had to be bad. You could try telling her that you don’t know what happened and as suggested before, there’s no one as special as she is. You might want to give it a day or two, depending on her mood.
 

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