Positive vibes and kind words for MontanaN8V

Hey guys! I am back to work! 

My pancreas is still doing it's thing, but I had a serious bout of sciatic nerve trouble. Some of you know I got my back broke in a car wreck in 2009, had surgery, and all was well.
I got my ass kicked last April on the job, had a guy go off on me, and I got hurt. I was off for a few weeks with back trouble after that, and then the pancreas diagnosis hit and that has been the situation until lately. I was off work since August 19, Cody's birthday this year. I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst pain that is gruesome to describe, but here goes! My right butt cheek felt like I had been shot with a 7mm Rem Mag! The burning continued down my leg, and my leg felt as if it were broken, no, snapped, just below the knee, and my foot felt as if I was standing in a pool of lava....and not a GD thing I could do about it. Went to ER, had MRI, and we had been working on non-surgical treatments.
This last weekend, I changed plans due to limited mobility. I wanted to kayak hunt opening day deer, but that was way out of the realm of possibility. So we took a drive up hwy 88 with everyone else. Took a short walk after seeing what I was almost sure a legal buck, and my leg went numb. I took a step, and the leg was just not there. I fell, and impaled myself on a branch. Lower right side abdomen. Hurt. Cody did good on medical, got bleeding stopped fast and bandaged me up. Good to go. I knew the wound was not major, so no need to end our day, right!? RIGHT!
So we went on up to scout out some lakes for goose hunting, casted a few lures, caught no fish, but had a great day with my son.
Sunday, we opted to stay local and do some striper fishing. We went out to bacon island/whiskey slough and caught a few dinkers. Had some good size fish blow up, but did not stick. I love topwater fishing man, it is great! There was a few fish raising and chasing shad to my left, and I took a quick step, and the leg was not there. I went down.....HARD into the rip rap along the shore. Again, Cody was there to help me up onto the road again, and to administer medical. My right knee was shredded with road rash and packed full of mud and grime. Good thing my leg is numb, because it looked like it should hurt like a son of a bitch!!!
I contacted my Dr. to update her with the numbness and paralysis. I have an appointment with a spinal specialist tomorrow in Roseville, I guess they are really concerned about that.

Pancreas....It is coming along. The tumor has shrunk a fair amount with the treatments I have been on. My labs are varied, some are REALLY good, and some not so much. The pain is minimal, and I am able to eat most everything, but have to watch saturated fats and sodium. We are going to watch it and continue on the treatment plan moving forward until this spinal issue is cleared up. I am out of FMLA and vacation time

The good news on the pancreas front is, if the tumor keeps shrinking, the surgery has a higher chance of success. As of today, our target date for that is April.

If I had known twenty years ago, I was going to live this long, maybe I would have taken a little better care of myself, or gone a little slower lol.

My girlfriend has been fantastic through all of this, and there is whispers of a weddin sometime in the future....

Damn dude!!

Good thing Cody is such a stud and is there to take care of your gimpy ass!!

 

Glad to hear that SOME stuff is going well though...as always, keep us posted if there is anything we can do to help.....

GF talking about wedding?!? 

I knew it...you been picking up blind girls again haven't you?!?!

 

Jk dude, stoked for you and look forward to meeting her!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

She is definitely.......special

Hey Rich;

I just read of your saga. We don't cross paths much, but you're one hell of a guy. Hang in there buddy.

Hang in there buddy! 

Hang tough Rich!
All that shit woulda killed a lesser man. You got this brother.


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Damn Bro, just keep getting better and stronger - and keep Cody close by

 

My Tranny has been fantastic through all of this, and there is whispers of a weddin sometime in the future....
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=)  We need to do a BBQ again buddy!!!!!!!

You must love torturing yourself. Haha.  Pancreas, sciatica and now thought of a wedding?  [emoji13]. 

You will have to bring her up for the Almanor test.  Lol.

Seriously, I'm happy you are feeling better and getting things together on the right track.  Cody is a great kid and it's no surprise he's there to help out.

Look forward to seeing both of you and the new girlfriend up this way soon.


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Damnit Rich, can you stay still long enough to heal?
It's great to hear the tumor is getting better, but the leg stuff is pretty shitty.
Cody is such a good kid!!!
And a new lady, i hope she isn't special like"Amy was her teacher special" but to be with you...

All our love, and call anytime!

Love the attitude Rich!

-Allen

Love the attitude Rich!

-Allen

Not seeing much difference between you now and the first time we met at Albion; falling, stumbling. Not saying the Tiki bar had anything to do with it..........

Thanks guys, I have dated this one twice before, we really have chemistry,  it has always been a distance thing, me in Lodi and she lives in Orangevale, doesnt make a mint and gas prices being what they were,  it just wasnt working for us. Things are good. We were just talking about Almanor tonight!!
Her son is 12, never really had a father figure, and he and I are finally clicking. He is in football, and busy now, but I plan on taking some time on this goose hunt thisweekend, and teach him how to fish. Needless to say, he has never fired a weapon,  so that will be fun too. I'm happy, just need to get healthy

My dr said the same thing-take it easy and heal. She doesnt understand, I was taking it easy!!! Lol, yeah this nerve thing is shitty, but they will patch that up no prob I am sure.

Love the attitude Rich!

-Allen

Not seeing much difference between you now and the first time we met at Albion; falling, stumbling. Not saying the Tiki bar had anything to do with it..........

We swung by Sat afternoon. Sorry we missed you guys. Yeah, falling down has long been the theme in your presence!

Went to the spinal specialist yesterday. She brought up the image form the MRI and she didn't even have to say anything. I saw it. Well, some of it. L3 had a bad medial bulge, and the alignment of the discs was off. They wanted to operate TODAY. I am looking at major surgery, fusion and disc repair of basically the lumbar vertebrae. I am going to be out of the fight for a while.
I opted to not have the surgery TODAY, but try epidural injections first. The reason being, I am out of FMLA and leave time. If I can push it off until the first of the year, I won't have to worry about my boss not holding my position for me. Montana trip is off for Thanksgiving, for starters, I have no leave time, need to tighten my belt and save some cash, and if I get on top of a mountain trying to drag out a bull, I could slip that disc and cause permanent damage. Still could putting it off as I am, but at least I can take it easy and not put myself in a position, like packing out an elk, here at home.
I am going to hunt this early goose, it is a low impact, low risk activity, but this may very well be my last hunt for the year. Recovery from the surgery I was told varies anywhere from 4-18 months.
I am so glad the tumor issue is heading towards positive ground and continues to shrink. Not fast, but it is. They are supposed to coordinate and develop a treatment plan while we tackle this spinal issue.
My GF went with me to the Dr, which was fantastic. She really helped keep me calm. My BP was 159/98 which is sky rocket high for me. Last night I was at home alone, and your mind starts to wander. She showed up around 7:30 so I would not be alone. How awesome is that!? I scored a 2 HOUR BACK RUB! Guys, I encourage all of you, go out and slip a disc or three, the back rubs are worth it!