Picked a bad time to stop sniffing glue...

Hey, doing a half marathon in 2:32 with NO training is good! I have people who TRAIN for half marathons who would kill for that time! So don't complain about that one!  

That was a serious fire at the power plant. WOW. I hope no one was injured or killed! 

Hopefully the surgery will help fix your spine pain. My friend had back pain for a year, finally got surgery, and now she is pain free. 

Hang in there! 

Nobody was injured. The evacuation was immediate and flawless. Firefighters only had to deal with the fire, not rescue.

The surgery was to remove a tumor in my spinal cord a year ago. Now the original nerve pain on my side is worse, and I have nerve damage from the surgery. I have lost feeling below the waist... but walk fine. Without going into detail, the worst of it is I feel like I have just rode a century all the time. The guys will understand. That is not something I am prepared to live with for the rest of my life. It sounds petty... but try living with it for a year.... or forever. My legs always feel asleep. Sometimes I'm not sure where they are. Weird.

These medical things... the bad problems are taken care of, but the results are not always fun. All I know is a went under the knife and woke up with my life changed. Now if I could not walk, well... those folks would gladly change with me... but that is not my reality. My doctor was confident I was going to be 100%. And I had a good doctor... so it isn't about that... I just woke up and here I am. It's has not been an easy year. I just kept hoping, and now I guess I need to work on accepting.

Originally posted by DanielG

Originally posted by powerman Sorry for the little pity party... but sometimes, it's all I got. I'm usually much happier around this time of year. What's new with you?

Hmmm, I've got a stint in my remaining kidney because I have a building kidney stone in it. They're lasering out the stone next week so I get to pee blood until then. With the stint, riding a bike is rather uncomfortable and afterwords it looks like I've swallowed razor blades. Aside from that Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the play? Yeah, I feel for you, I really do. I'll cross my fingers for your and your power plants along with the mom(s) situations. It will get better, it really will.

I knew you would get it.

Ya, I mean big picture... I'm better... but different. Dude... I have friends that have had stones... and hard to imagine such a  little thing can be so excruciatingly painful. I hope you get it squared away. It's great to wake up from surgery with the "good news"... but ya, it most certainly left a mark.

Glad to hear everyone was OK! 

Your medical issues sound pretty sh@tty. Sorry to hear it. Sounds painful and it would be hard not feeling one's legs from nerve damage. 

Know what's weird?  Is some people have more sedentary and immobilizing lives and it's by CHOICE...  But that's probably all the harder if you want to be active.  People wasting their lives while others long for doing more.

It will come around, or you will adjust and find other fulfilling endeavors - you don't seem like the kind of guy to resign...

I am doing a 24hr walk-a-thon on Sat to raise money for cancer research and the other people in the group asked if I was going to do the special "survivors" lap at the beginning - They were shocked that I didn't think of myself as a "survivor", just someone who had an annoying issue that I worked through...

SO, even if you are feeling down.  I'm sure you are an inspiration to many...  Some say they are inspired by me, even if I feel like the lease inspiring person on the planet.  Maybe they are talking about my mad skills at EAsports Tiger Woods 14?

Right now I have mad skills with Ben & Jerry's.

I know the right answers, sometimes I just have to say it out loud. Just not real happy right now. Home life is pretty stressful. Marriage is not where we want it. Work... WOW. And the "anniversary" is really messing with me. They say improvement can be seen up to 18 months... but with nothing at 12... well.

I am at least off meds. I tried to go off before and the pain was pretty bad. I'm off now, and it is manageable. So the pain might have been worse, and has gotten better...but all I can compare to is pre surgery and it is worse. The feeling in my legs have not changed at all. My doctor was confident it would clear up... but here it is a year. I don't really know how to say it... but I was not planning on giving up sex for another 30-40 years or so.... well never. Yet when they tell you possible consequence of spinal cord surgery... ya, it's real. I just don't really know what to say... it sounds really petty to talk about it, but it is really messing with me. Everything works, I just can't feel it... that's all. No big deal.

Originally posted by DanielG

Originally posted by powerman

Originally posted by DanielG

Originally posted by powerman Sorry for the little pity party... but sometimes, it's all I got. I'm usually much happier around this time of year. What's new with you?

Hmmm, I've got a stint in my remaining kidney because I have a building kidney stone in it. They're lasering out the stone next week so I get to pee blood until then. With the stint, riding a bike is rather uncomfortable and afterwords it looks like I've swallowed razor blades. Aside from that Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the play? Yeah, I feel for you, I really do. I'll cross my fingers for your and your power plants along with the mom(s) situations. It will get better, it really will. 

I knew you would get it.

Ya, I mean big picture... I'm better... but different. Dude... I have friends that have had stones... and hard to imagine such a  little thing can be so excruciatingly painful. I hope you get it squared away. It's great to wake up from surgery with the "good news"... but ya, it most certainly left a mark.

Well, considering this is my last kidney. The other one got eaten up by cancer and cut out in Nov, I hope and pray it's a minor issue (edit) Of course I get it. Obscure Zucker, Abrams, Zucker references are always welcome!

A good friend has a rare autoimmune disease that attacks the kidneys. He has already had one transplant... and I think he might be needing another soon. Great guy. Great family. Never plays the "sick card". I would give him one if it matched, but it doesn't. Kiddneys are kind of important. Things can always be worse. I just need to move on.

Originally posted by powerman

Originally posted by DanielG

Originally posted by powerman

Originally posted by DanielG

Originally posted by powerman Sorry for the little pity party... but sometimes, it's all I got. I'm usually much happier around this time of year. What's new with you?

Hmmm, I've got a stint in my remaining kidney because I have a building kidney stone in it. They're lasering out the stone next week so I get to pee blood until then. With the stint, riding a bike is rather uncomfortable and afterwords it looks like I've swallowed razor blades. Aside from that Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the play? Yeah, I feel for you, I really do. I'll cross my fingers for your and your power plants along with the mom(s) situations. It will get better, it really will. 

I knew you would get it.

Ya, I mean big picture... I'm better... but different. Dude... I have friends that have had stones... and hard to imagine such a  little thing can be so excruciatingly painful. I hope you get it squared away. It's great to wake up from surgery with the "good news"... but ya, it most certainly left a mark.

Well, considering this is my last kidney. The other one got eaten up by cancer and cut out in Nov, I hope and pray it's a minor issue (edit) Of course I get it. Obscure Zucker, Abrams, Zucker references are always welcome!

A good friend has a rare autoimmune disease that attacks the kidneys. He has already had one transplant... and I think he might be needing another soon. Great guy. Great family. Never plays the "sick card". I would give him one if it matched, but it doesn't. Kiddneys are kind of important. Things can always be worse. I just need to move on.

Well, there's still plenty of glue, bro. 

Ya, but it's really doing a number on me with all the meth. At least I still have pills.

HAHA!!  I read it before you edited it and was broke up laughing because I knew what you had probably typed before the computer spelling fairy got you.

The absolute best thing you can do for yourself when life really sucks is to beat yourself up for being upset about it.  I find that's always helpful.

Seriously, were I in your shoes, I think I'd get a baseball bat and a bag of aluminum cans, pitch myself a heck of a tantrum and smash those cans to Kansas.

That would suck DNf'ing for that.

Thanks for the laugh.

So how did the laser go?

Ya, I'm doing a metric century next weekend and I have not been on my bike in a year. Should be fun. Glad to hear it better.

What can you make of the report?

Well, I can make a broach, a hat, a teradactyl.

Seriously, I'd recommend reading Scott Rigsby's book.  Or at least thinking about him.  It may be time to reset your goals.  Be patient.  I would assume that the outcome of your surgery could have been much, much worse than just setting back your fitness.

Hang in there.

Thanks Mike. Too busy to complain now. My Summer is pretty much toast. I'll be working till we get going again. Glad I didn't have a lot scheduled. 

My Dad is visiting now. Of course staying with us. The one that left Mom 6 mos shy of their 50th which is why she is living with me. Bizzare.

On a positive note, I'm still going to Vegas for a week at the end of June.