A Christmas miracle, of sorts. Against all odds...

[the 'stache]

Hey everybody,

I have a bit of an inspirational story to share with everyone, and I hope that this will help those on Net 54 who might be struggling a bit right now find strength.

Some, or many of you might remember that I have been on medical disability for the last five years, or so. For those of you who are new, or might not remember, about nine years ago, I hurt my back while helping my then girlfriend move into her new place. While carrying the very last thing to go into the apartment, one of those old 27" tube televisions, I started to lose my grip halfway up the stairs. I bent over a little bit, and felt something snap in my back. I fractured the T-12 vertebra, a 70% compression fracture. I also tore two discs in my lower back, and they bulged out under the pressure. It was also discovered that I have spinal stenosis. I had multiple surgeries to fix my back as much as possible, but when the issues began to reappear, all the doctors could do was keep me comfortable, as I was not a candidate for multi-tiered spinal fusion or disc replacement surgery. I worked on and off for a few years until my back got so bad I could barely get out of bed, even taking Vicodin every six hours. For the better part of the last five years, I slept, went to doctors appointments, and tried to maintain my sanity. Everything that I'd worked so hard to achieve had been taken away from me. The only possible "fix" on the horizon was an experimental stem cell procedure. But, of course, insurance would not cover it. I had the money saved to pay for the procedure, but not knowing if it would work or not seemed to be too great a gamble to take. That money was my safety net if I got hurt again, so I elected to continue saving specifically for the procedure, or hope that the insurance companies would change their opinion. I made the right decision, as I shattered the femur in my left leg into six pieces not long after joining Net 54, and spent nearly a month in the hospital fighting sepsis.

About four months ago, I'd reached my boiling point. My friends were getting married, having children, traveling, getting big promotions, and generally enjoying life. I was happy for them, of course, but I wanted my own life back, and I don't think that was being selfish. I had too much to accomplish in my life. I wanted to see the world, and I wasn't going to do any of it flat on my back. So, I began reading.

It occurred to me that, instead of relying on medicine, and technology, I might be able to improve my own health. I'd always been athletic in high school, and in college (before blowing out my knee), even with the bone issue I was born with. I thought maybe I could strengthen my body to the point where I could offset some of the stress on my back, thereby lessening the pain I experienced daily. I started making changes, little ones at first. The progress was slow. Too slow. But I soldiered on. First, I stopped drinking soda. I stopped drinking everything but water. Caffeine is the overnight stockbroker's best friend, but to somebody living a sedentary lifestyle, the chemicals in the soda were destructive. The calories were empty. I started getting up in the morning to make myself breakfast. High fiber, high protein. Lots of fresh fruit (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries...every day) with my shredded wheat and lite vanilla soy milk. High in calcium for my bones. I upped my vitamin D and calcium take, under doctor supervision. I ate more vegetables, and eliminated all fast food. I ate more meals each day, in order to boost my metabolism. I started shedding weight, enough to where I could get up, and try to get some exercise. I started doing 15 minute walks. Then half an hour. Progressing slowly, I was able to get up to two hours, at a pace just short of jogging. I started doing push ups on the stairs, the incline meaning less stress on my back. I felt surprisingly good doing all this. Then, I decided to really go for it. I signed up at a local gym, and began hitting the exercise bike. 45 minutes a day, every day. That went well. 5-600 calories being burned 6 days a week, with the improvements to my diet, shed more pounds. The stress on my spine lessened. Then, I began hitting the weights six weeks ago. After my 45 minutes of cardio, I now do an hour on weight machines. And, two weeks ago, I started working with resistance bands at home to strengthen my core.

I've been able to cut my pain medication from once every six hours to once every twelve hours, and there are times when I can skip one of those. I can sleep again, most nights, without a muscle relaxer. All the additional water retention I've realized from these drugs has gone. I've shed 43 pounds from when I was on the operating table for my second back surgery, and I've lost nearly 6 inches from my waistline. I'm seeing definition in my shoulders, back, chest, arms and legs that I haven't seen since college. My left knee no longer hurts, save for some soreness after exercising. But most importantly, if I can keep this up, and make my core strong enough, I should be able to get off of pain medication completely, using only the occasional over-the-counter medication. That would mean I could get medical clearance, get off of disability, and go back to work. My firm had already told me they have my position open should I resolve the medical issues. So, my life is there for the taking once again. Everything that had been taken away from me is within reach.

The bottom line is that I just decided that I was no longer going to be held captive by these injuries. The road back to where I am now has been incredibly hard, but completely worth it. My left leg, which has a foot long titanium rod and some 14 screws, and a completely rebuilt ACL, is strong.

Christmas is the time of miracles, and when I look at how far I have come, and the odds that I have battled, I can't help but feel that this is a miracle of sorts. It's amazing what we can accomplish when we put our minds to it, and refuse to be held down. So, to you, my friends, that might be struggling right now...keep fighting. Don't give up. We are all capable of doing incredible things if only we fight for them. I'm not quite where I need to be yet, but it's only a matter of time. I'll be back at work, and then able to really start working on my vintage and pre-war collections soon.

Merry Christmas, everybody! God Bless!