Bahama Mama

Want some sugar cane Popeye?

Look what I caught Popeye!

Let's go for a walk Popeye!

You Are Missed

A valuable voice has been unfairly silenced.

Silenced by an unsolicited opinion.
Silenced by an ignorant hurtful comment.
Silenced by one who presumes to speak for all.
Silenced by one whom perhaps should themselves be silent.

A valuable voice has been unfairly silenced.

A voice which speaks honestly.
A voice which provokes thought.
A voice which entertains.
A voice which inspires.

A voice I miss and hope will soon return.

Lazy White People

Yesterday I went for my first post-op run - a very S....L....O....W 3.30 miles.

The following song and video was a gift from the RFWDG guys to our lovely wives.

It commemorates a December 2004 trip to Treasure Beach Jamaica, the most peaceful place I've ever been.

Written, arranged, composed and performed by Calvin, Don, Ward and myself.

Enjoy.

A Prayer

Flattering Photos?

I had a photo shoot yesterday.

They were very expensive and frankly I think I got screwed.

Button It Up

Next Wednesday morning, it’s back to the Doctor with new x-rays in tow. As it stands right now, I’m optimistic these photos will reveal the newly implanted metal in my upper spine to be securely in place and successfully promoting the desired fusion necessary to prevent me from becoming a white version of Gumby.

I’m equally optimistic he will free me from the wretched collar which has tormented me so these past six weeks and in so doing, bid me to go forth and once again don my Sauconys. In which case I will dutifully obey and gladly begin the arduous process of shedding the 15 plus pounds which have literally crept up on me during this unwelcome sedentary period.

It’s disappointingly interesting how quickly one gains weight when their activity level drops to nothing. It’s as if overnight I’ve gone from having to cinch my belt all the way to the last possible hole to having random buttons launch from my waist like deadly projectiles at 600 psi. Even my socks feel tight.

So as you might imagine, I’m more than ready to get back to an active lifestyle. But while I’m anxious to do so, I am also trying to remain mindful of the pitfalls of doing too much too soon. So as I begin to re-acclimate myself to physical activity, please take note of my mileage updates. And if you feel I’m too aggressive, feel free to verbally smack me.

In the meantime, be wary of rocket propelled buttons. They’ve been known to put an eye out.

Have A Special Day

Before I met you, I must confess
life as I knew it was one big mess.

The revolution was stalled, my cigars were wet
my uniforms tattered, my pants were split.

And try as I may, at every attempt
my beard never failed, to look so unkempt.

But now that’s all changed, I’m sharp as a tack
save for the metal, embedded in my back.

I’m no longer lost, and out of control
allowing life’s bumps to exact their toll.

Instead with you, my life is complete
any problems we face, together we’ll beat.

So on this day, as we celebrate
another year past, a memorable date.

Know that I love you, Te amo
no matter what happens, I’ll never go.

And in any language, I’m happy to say
¡Feliz Cumpleaños!, Happy Birthday!

Fidel

Twenty Seven

March 22, 1981

The second day of spring, not so long ago,
a new life marked, by a late season snow.
Into our home as if on cue,
quietly you came, to voices you knew.

A full head of hair and eyes bright blue,
you were our world, until there were two.
A family of four, through the childhood years,
sharing our lives, our joys and our tears.

From Big Wheels to bicycles, your first 22,
summers in camp, on horseback and canoe.
Learning God’s lessons by the great lake,
discovering its better, to give than to take.

Too quickly time passed as change took hold,
you spread your wings, and grew ever bold.
Thru times in your life, when shadows were cast,
forcing you to bend and grow up too fast.

In the blink of an eye, you became a young man,
serving our country in far away lands.
Then off to school, in pursuit of your goal,
easily moving, into your new role.

Now I look back at twenty-seven years,
the laughter, the sorrow, the hopes and the fears.
The times we were close and those far apart,
keeping you near, always in my heart.

I’m proud of you Ben, and all you have done,
I’m honored to call you, my only son.
I hope as time passes, the older you grow,
you’ll always remember, I love you so.

Update

My first post-op Doctor visit went well, as (for now) my head remains firmly attached with no signs of premature separation and my incision appears to be well on its way to full assimilation into the existing lines of my neck.

I have also been given the green light to return to work albeit with the caveat that I should pay close attention to my body, i.e. Don’t over do it. Since I sit at a desk throughout the day, I don’t anticipate any problems.

A return follow-up visit is scheduled in 4 weeks and if all remains well connected, I will be able to forgo the collar completely at that time. And while there may be a need for physical therapy, there is also a good possibility I may very well be able to once again don my running shoes. Among so many other things, I am very grateful for this. (I am considering the ING Georgia marathon in April 2009 for my second – any feedback on this venue is greatly appreciated.)

Given my apparent progress, I can only surmise my self-prescribed Guinness treatments must be working.

Last night, Beth and I went to a yoga class – our first. Aside from being able to pick a sari clad, turbaned Yogi-like person out of a line up, I am completely ignorant of both the philosophy and techniques of yoga however, I’m interested in learning.

The class focused on learning to breathe properly and wasn’t overly physical but I did feel (literally) as if I participated more than I should as the already stretched ligaments and tendons in my shoulders grew increasingly loud in their protestations as the night went on. However with the help of a muscle relaxer, I slept well and feel pretty good today.

Pharmaceuticals can be so helpful, don’t you think?

It's Good For You

For strictly medicinal purposes, I made a classic Black & Tan ...

And when It was complete ...

I took my medicine like a good boy.

Confessions Of A Junkie

Many believe there is nothing wrong with taking an occasional jog.

"Just this once," they say. "I know my limits."

Well I was one of those people and like many others I started with the occasional 5k, all the while telling myself, "Hey, I'm not hurting anyone. Besides, I can quit whenever I want." Then before I knew it, I was running regardless of the weather.

Rain - no big deal, snow - so what, freezing temps - who cares.

You get the picture.

Then suddenly one day, the 5k fix wasn't enough. I needed more. So I ran a 10k. But soon, that too failed to quell the growing monkey which was now securely on my back and as its grip tightened, I did a 1/2 marathon.

My dresser drawers began to overflow with race t-shirts. I found myself hanging out with other users like myself. I was spending all my money at Fleet Feet. I would leave the house before dawn in order to hide my addiction from my family and friends. I was a full fledged junkie.

I finally hit bottom and knew I needed help when I ran my first marathon. Now I'm in rehab. And as you can tell from the photo, it’s extreme. It’s cold turkey for 3 months and then they tell me I’ll gradually wean myself away from the addiction.

I don’t know though. Right now, I still get the urge to get out there when I see some other poor soul pounding the pavement.

So be careful. This running is some powerful stuff. It will lure you in and then before you realize it’s happened, “I want to run” becomes “I have to run!”

Update From Tim

After being awakened several times during the course of the night for the ritualistic taking of the vitals, I finally awoke for good around 7am when my surgeon, Dr. Harron dropped in to tell me I was free to go and to my utter satisfaction, I would not be required to wear the dreaded collar nearly as much as I did the previous time I blew a disc. It seems advances in technology allowed for the utilization of a metal implement which requires less stabilization than that of the cylinder which was embedded six years ago.

And so once the discharge process was complete, I climbed aboard for my obligatory wheelchair ride from the room to the car and headed home. On the way, Beth stopped by Java The Hut, a local coffee drive-thru shop owned by our friend Bob, so I could satisfy my need for a real cup of coffee. (I find hospital coffee - and food - to be surprisingly bad considering the environment is one where healing is paramount.)

And from there we went home where I was immediately set upon by the dogs who are genetically hard wired to lick obsessively in order to insure the lickee completely appreciates how badly they were missed. Judging from the puddles dripping from me, I'd say they were very happy for my return although I don't really know why as it is clear it is Beth, and not I who is the alpha dog in our pack.

At any rate, I'm home for 2-3 weeks best case, 4-6 worst and while here in my oxycodone state of euphoria, I hope to get a lot of writing done as I currently have one newsletter due NOW (I am the editor of our local running club's newsletter - The Star City Striders) and another due in April (RFWDG). Hopefully the narcotics will have a positive impact on my writing as well as the post-op discomfort.

Many thanks to all who posted, called and emailed well wishes, prayers and support. It means a great deal to me and I am sincerely grateful. Also to Dr. Harron and everyone else at Carilion's Roanoke Memorial Hospital who ensured my stay was both as comfortable and as short as possible, I thank you ... but I hope I don't have to see you again anytime soon.

Update From Beth

To all our friends and family,

Thank you for all your thoughts, well wishes, and prayers! When I left Tim a short while ago, he was sleeping blissfully in a drug induced state.

Tim may be a bit more sore this go round, as some tendons had to be stretched in order to reach the disk affected, but we hope the recovery with go as smoothly as it did 6 years ago. He still has to wear a collar for 6 weeks, no driving for 6 weeks, and absolutely no running for 3 months!

After the usual plethora of phone calls and emails, letting the dogs out, feeding them and myself, I am once again off to the hospital. Will keep you posted!

Thanks again, Beth

Deja Vu

This Tuesday (4 March), nearly six years to the day from my last blown disc surgery, I will be going under the knife to repair a herniated disc in between the C6 and C7 vertebrate.

At this rate, I will officially become the bionic man in another 18 years.

All running is on hold for the next 3 months as the aforementioned disks fuse together.

All good karma and well wishes are much appreciated.

This will be removed:

This will be inserted:

Like this:

And this is the stylish collar I will sport for six weeks:

The Tooth Fairy's First Visit

The first tooth says goodbye!

Help Make St. Patrick's Day An Official Holiday

Go here to cast your vote:

http://www.proposition317.com/stpats.html

Happy Valentines Day Beth

Happy Birthday

Popeye took the picture.

Meme made the cake.

Lei Lei stole the show!

Post Doc Visit

As expected, my visit to the doctor’s office resulted in x-rays, narcotics and an MRI appointment for tomorrow.

The x-rays show my previously acquired metal cylinder, securely embedded between vertebrae’s C5 and C6. There it continues to perform the function of the disc it replaced six years ago while secretly awaiting the most opportune time to set off all manner of alarms in a major metropolitan airport.

Meanwhile the one just below seems to be degenerating. I suspect this to be causing the numbness and pain radiating down and through my right arm.

For the most part, the prescribed drugs are unsuited for the work place as they tend to bring on bouts of narcolepsy and leave me incapable of maintaining lucid conversation. So while at work, I take mega doses of Naproxen – which for some reason I find difficult to pronounce - while employing shock therapy with the aid of a Tens unit.

A Tens unit or Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation is a pocket size, portable, battery-operated device that sends electrical impulses to certain parts of the body to block pain signals. The electrical currents produced are mild, but can prevent pain messages from being transmitted to the brain and may raise the level of endorphins (natural pain killers produced by the brain).

That is of course provided one doesn’t turn the device up too high. Doing so will instead cause pain messages to be fast forwarded to the brain in rapid succession while causing one’s body to contort in the fashion of a Cirque du Soleil acrobat.

On my days off however, I’ve been ingesting happy pills which leave me floating about in a semi-conscious state while Beth takes care of me; which she does well and which I certainly do not deserve.

She and I both know what possibly lies ahead and neither of us looks forward to it with any degree of enthusiasm. However if indeed another metal cylinder is destined to take up residence in my spine, I know the ensuing recovery will be significantly less of a pain in the neck (pun obviously intended) because the woman I love will be with me, making sure I’m back on my feet and logging my miles as soon as possible.

Beth has always been there for me even when I’ve not been there as I should for her.

For those times, I am filled with remorse.

For temporarily losing sight of what is most important, I am sincerely sorry.

For falling headlong into a darkening abyss, I am overwhelmed with regret.

And for the opportunity to set things right, I am eternally grateful.

Ouch

Millions of people suffer from pain in their necks or arms. A common cause of cervical pain is a rupture or herniation of one or more of the cervical discs. This happens when the annulus of the disc tears and the soft nucleus squeezes out. As a result, pressure is placed on the nerve root or the spinal cord and causes pain in the neck, shoulders, arms and sometimes the hands. Cervical disc herniations can occur as a result of aging, wear and tear, or sudden stress like from an accident.

An anterior cervical discetomy is the most common surgical procedure to treat damaged cervical discs. Its goal is to relieve pressure on the nerve roots or on the spinal cord by removing the ruptured disc. It is called anterior because the cervical spine is reached through a small incision in the front of the neck (anterior means front). During the surgery, the soft tissues of the neck are separated and the disc is removed. In many cases, it is replaced with a metal cylinder which is fluted so as to allow the bone to grow through and fuse.

Prior to six years ago this coming March, I knew none of this. However it was then I experienced this procedure first hand and at that time was told I had another disc which was potentially suspect and may or may not present a problem in the future.

Fast forward into the future, i.e. now.

The old familiar pain and numbness is back.

Ergo my limited number of miles logged of late.

Off to the Doc tomorrow where I anticipate a prescription for some excellent narcotic based sleep aids and an MRI appointment.

Will keep you posted.