It been a tough year!

#1
I know I've been absent from the meetings, not wheeling, not on the forum, barely on FB.
There are only a few people that know what's been going on, so here's the skinny.

The first week in May of 2015 I injured my back at work. 3 weeks later my grandmother passed. 2 days later my aunt passed. [emoji174] [emoji24] These were some very special people to me. It has taken quite some time to get right with things.
Within weeks my back injury was worse, and eventually interfered with nearly every aspect of life. It slowly declined further since then. I'm at the point now that I don't drive the jeep at all, since I can't get into the driver seat.[emoji35] My wife drives it a little, as does my son, but I'm to jealous to let them out in it to much.
I missed last deer, duck, turkey, quail seasons because I don't think I can handle the rifle or shotgun recoil,and I can't take the standing&walking for long periods.[emoji35] I missed most of the fishing from not being able to climb in/out of my boat, sit in the bad seat very long, or the hassle of loading it. No driving the ARGO since I can't climb in/out of it. [emoji35]

At this point I'm still trying to get the Workers Comp Dr to quit telling me it's a pulled muscle [emoji243] [emoji90] [emoji23] , and the pain is from getting fat&lazy over the past year+ that I've been out of work. I'm apparently not doing anything at all.
The pain has progressed from a pinch in my back to shooting down my leg into my foot. [emoji95][emoji298]

I'm not asking for a pity party, though I will take prayers! I just thought it was time to let everyone know what was up since several people have ask lately.

To cover the obvious questions....
:Yes I have a lawyer, so I'm following his advise.
:Yes I'm stuck with this Dr as long as workers comp is in charge.
:Yes I've seen 3 Dr's, same opinion, same treatment. Throw pills at it[emoji381] , and therapy. They act suprised that repeating treatment doesn't yield different results only makes it worse.
 
#4
I'm on my 3rd workers comp Dr. I've got 2 MRI's, but the Dr keeps saying the disc herniati are non symptomatic.he sad thing is that none of the 3 Dr's have done aml
 
#6
have you tried a chiropractor? I'm disabled retired military due to back and Chiro is one of the few things that brings relief, you can use "The Joint" in Lexington or Harbison, very affordable.
 
#7
Still stuck dealing with workers comp at this point.

It's completely F-up my life so far.
I can't get in my jeep, not that I could take the rough ride to wheel it. No camping with the family, or canoe trips with my son. I want to go hunting for dam near anything at this point. I haven't been able to work in the shop since last may, and been stuck at home since last August.

Let me quit crying, it could be far worse, I could be ugly too!
 
#8
So I finally made some progress. I'm done with workers comp as of 2 weeks ago. That hack Dr told me there's no reason I'm in pain, and it's all due to me being fat & lazy.
The progress comes from my orthopedic Dr. He ordered a new MRI to compare to the one from last Sept. and there it be. I have a huge disc herniation in the lumbar area. It was noted last year in the MRI as being 3mm+. One year later it's 3x that size. The disc has my spinal cord compressed at 85-90%. It's basically constantly pushing on the nerve strand.
First order of business was epidural injections to try and relive some pain. That was yesterday. You can't imagine how thankful I am to be able to sit in a chair, lay down, or sleep without having to move every hour or so. I can walk without my cane a little, but standing&walking are still the worst things to do.
You have no idea the level of pain you can become use to living with. I didn't realize it fully until I got some relief!

Thanks for the prayers, and we'll wishes. I appreciate them.
 
#10
Relief from injections was not as substantial as the Dr was hoping for. Now I wait on approval for Ins. Coverage to have surgery.
The proceed could take months, but I'm hopeful.
Prayers are always welcomed!
 
#11
So I finally got the approval for surgery. It's been a very long road to get here, and I still got that last mile to go. I'm just thankful to finally see the finish line.
Thanks for all the prayers, keep em coming.
 
#12
Awesome news!! Make sure you keep up with the post surgery rehab. that is the key to getting back to things. You will curse the doctor for the exercises but it really is the key
 
#14
So it's been a little over a week since surgery.
Day 1, I was out of the bed and walking without a cane. No more lightening bolts of pain shooting down my leg, and only muscle pain in my back from being sliced like a ham.
I still have lots of muscle pain from surgery, and walking. It is getting better, and should continue to do so.
I'm ready for the day I can manage getting back into the jeep.
 
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