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« Last post by KenR on August 07, 2007, 04:56 PM »
Hi all. It was suggested to me that I write this explanatory message. I'm not certain exactly what I want to say though and the issues are highly emotional. So, please forgive any problems with this message.
I began experiencing severe pain in 2000 due to progressive spinal degeneration. The pain finally overwhelmed me in 2005 and forced me to leave my job at that time. I was going to get surgery, but several medical procedures and treatment with a pain specialist helped me get by for 2 more years. Unfortunately, the spinal pathology is multilevel and the outcome statistics for surgery for it are not great.
The spinal pathology has worsened and the pain has increased tremendously. It stopped me from doing the blogging for DC and often kept me out of the IRC channel. I've been able to work less and less and virtually all of my activities have stopped.
Although she previously told me to never have back surgery, my pain management doc recently told me it was time to do it. I went to Dallas and spoke to my surgeon about it. After a discussion and some scans, he agreed to do surgery on me and we are now waiting for medical clearance.
So with that background in mind, living in severe, disabling pain has affected my mood, tollerance of, and response to things. So, when it seemed like I had no sense of humor and couldn't take a joke in the IRC channel, hopefully this will shed some light on things.
The doctor tells me it will be about 2 months before I can return to work part time following the surgery. So, I don't know how long it will take me to get on line again after it.
All the support I've gotten from the DC gang has been really, really wonderful. I have tremendously appreciated all the cards and the conversations I've had. It's a real shame that the pain has kept me off DC.
Recent Posts
I have really appreciated every single cards I received - even the ones I couldn't read. 
