Spinal Surgery!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. And what a week it has been! The weather has turned to the mild side with daily highs rising above freezing and some melting has taken place. But the big event began early Monday morning as I reported to the hospital for my long-awaited spinal surgery. A friendly doctor on the surgery team drew us a diagram and explained the procedure. 

Spinal Surgery Diagram

The dark blue circle is the spinal cord which is being impinged here by a ruptured disc, or boney material, or both. They will cut straight down from the surface of my back (carefully, he was at pains to assure me) until they encounter the bone. Then, they will retract the muscle tissue to the red lines to give them greater access. At that point, they will finally see what they're up against. However, I have not had any meetings with the surgical team to find out what they saw or what they did. Wendy changed the bandage this afternoon, and took a picture, so I know they did something! The pain from the incision is pretty much gone, but it will be months rebuilding proper strength and motion. 

Incision

The incision is about 10cm (4") long, and is now held together with steri-strips. There has been little seepage and it seems to be healing well. The main feature of the week has been, unfortunately, hiccups (I always spelled it hiccoughs, but that seems to have changed!). I was discharged from the hospital Monday evening, gingerly made my way home and went to bed. "To sleep, perhaps to dream"... yeah, no chance of that! I spent most of the night trying to find a comfortable position in which to rest, and finally at 4:22am, the hiccups arrived and have remained ever since. To be sure, many folks have sent along their advice and remedies and some of them have proved helpful. This has not been the case with my medical people, none of whom have gotten back to me. I plan to visit them on Monday! 

Otherwise, the markets remained volatile, but expanded to new all-time highs again this week as strong USA economic data for jobs, GDP and inflation encouraged investors. In the world of Basketball, KU was punished for their lack-lustre performance last week and dropped to #7. A win at home and a loss on the road this week are unlikely to encourage the voters! In the NHL, Oilers pushed their winning streak to 16 games and are solidly in a playoff position. Pens remain on the outside looking in and need to definitely go on a winning streak. Leafs remain unpredictable as they frequently appear to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. But all three of them won today!

Erica writes, "It’s been a fairly ordinary week in Prince Albert. We enjoyed a reprieve from the cold temperatures. It warmed up to 0 degrees on the weekend. This weekend marks the beginning of the winter festival. We enjoyed an evening out at the Tux and Toques Gala. I wore a jacket with tails (tux) and Eric wore a toque. And that is about it! :)" 

Erin and Kristian are also enjoying the break from the deep freeze. Kristian has had to struggle to do his make up work in math while teachers are on job action. 

Travis and Joanna are starting on their way back from Punta Cana this weekend. We are expecting them on Monday evening. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

It's Time!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The cold weather has broken, and we're enjoying sunny days. They're predicting temperatures near zero next week, but also suggesting that we'll get some snow. We'll see how that plays out! I am scheduled for spinal surgery on Monday, so I won't have to worry about snow clearing for a while! We've had a cold week here in Thunder Bay, but not the wild weather experienced east of here, nor the deep freeze enjoyed in the west. We've had a quiet, mostly indoors week. Wendy had her choir practice on Monday evening, and went for a fresh haircut on yesterday. I had my pre-admission conference on Wednesday. The markets have been struggling with fears that the FED will maintain its high interest rates for longer than hoped since the USA economy continues to perform so strongly. However, as jobless data was much better than expected, and consumer confidence data also was a beat, the investors finally decided that companies pretty much had to make money in this environment so, we closed the week with some nice gains. In the world of sports curling has been a highlight. Last week concluded with Koe winning in Lloydminster. This week, it's the Canadian Open in Red Deer. Koe lost in the tie-breaker this morning. It will be a Canada/Scotland final on the men's side tomorrow, featuring Bottcher vs Mouat. On the women's side, it'll be Switzerland/Canada with the Tirinzoni vs Homan matchup. In hockey, my Oilers ran off another big win streak (now at 13 games) to move into a playoff position. Leafs are having a bad spell of blowing leads and losing games; they're barely hanging on to what used to be a solid playoff position. Penguins are playing better and have moved within two points of the playoffs. They all played today, but only Oilers managed a win. #3-Jayhawks have continued their sloppy ways in college basketball, and have not been achieving the easy wins that I expect! Today, they dropped a road game that they should have won easily! Rock Chalk boys! Stadium stairs, boys!! I expect this will show up in a drop in the rankings!

Erica writes, "Eric and I honoured our grandfathers on Friday by attending an NDP fundraiser in PA. We dragged along a few conservatives as well. Ha! It was a fun evening with music bingo, silent auctions and air banjo. On Saturday, we went to listen to Amy Bishop at the EA Rawlinson in PA. I also had an appointment in Saskatoon to get my hand electrocuted. Turns out, I have carpal tunnel. I also had some testing for arthritis, but I don’t have that yet! So that’s good. I have to wear a brace for four months and if that doesn’t fix it, we may do a procedure. The boys all seem well. We’ve had a few chats here and there and they are doing okay."

Kristian won his curling game last week, but this week's schedule was postponed. We expect they will catch up on that one later. Then, they'll be into the playoffs. Erin had a small disaster with her RAV4 as the battery failed. Modern vehicles rely heavily on the computerized aspects. We experienced a similar issue earlier this winter as the battery weakened, and the computer said, "So sorry, can't run on that!" It wouldn't start, it wouldn't even lock the doors, we couldn't even get it out of gear for towing—it was dead! Her situation was similar and in the very cold weather, she had to get it towed to work and a new battery installed.

Ah, the life!

Travis and Joanna are enjoying life in Punta Cana where tropical beaches beckon! They laugh at we poor folk suffering in the cold! Seriously, we are glad to see them taking a break from the work and the weather. We are taking care of Minnie, and that's going fine.

And that's about enough for this week!

Spinal Surgery!

I have been suffering sciatica-like pain for the last year or so as a result of an issue in my spinal column. It came to my attention one day in September 2022, while I was working in the shop, however the doctors think it was under development for years ahead of that! I was sitting on the floor, installing a set of storage drawers. When I tried to get up, there was a severe pain in my back that took my breath away. In the immediate aftermath, the pain was debilitating—I could only walk about fifty metres. Over the year plus since then, it has played out as lower back pain, pain points in my butt, a burning sensation in my thighs and calves, and neuropathy in my feet. Helpful suggestions from family and doctors have allowed me to achieve significant relief. I am now able to walk about 1 km without negative repercussions. I can even walk up to 5 km, but then I suffer significantly the following day. The lower back team at the hospital has assured me that only the lower back pain is real, and that the rest are phantom pains caused by the impingement on the nerves. I had my pre-admission meeting on Wednesday morning, and now all is in place for spinal surgery on Monday, January 22nd. The plan is to reformat the spinal column between L4 and L5 to create some room for my spinal column and the nerves associated with it. In the MRIs you can see the narrowing of the spinal column at the L4-L5 area; the doctor calls it severe spinal stenosis. He was not surprised that I was experiencing discomfort while walking, in fact, he seemed to be more surprised that I was walking at all! One of the pictures has encouraged me to think that it's only soft tissue pressure caused by the ruptured disc, but the surgeon did not accept that conclusion! So, he'll see when he gets in there. He predicts that I will be released from hospital on Monday unless there are complications. After that, he assures me, I will be feeling real pain in the lower back, but I'll have drugs to allay that! Then, he predicts I will get relief from the butt and leg pains in short order, but that the neuropathy can not be expected to dissipate very soon, or possibly ever. Is it delicate, risky? Of course it is. No surgery is risk-free, and the spinal column is particularly complex. Thus, I covet your prayers over the surgery and the rehab work to follow. Thanks

BRRR!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We are into a cold snap with a polar vortex bringing cold weather down both east and west of us, and we're getting caught a bit as well. Western Canada is seeing temperatures down to -40°, and eastern Canada is seeing cold and storms pushing down into the USA. We feel a bit fortunate with calm conditions and temperatures around -15°, but it still leaves us relieved to sit, well protected, in our comfortable home. We did get some additional snow early in the week, but we remain well below average on that front for this point in the season.

Puzzle-Lady completes another!

Wendy has completed another puzzle. She also keeps busy with her choral group, and her small group at church. She continues to improve, albeit slowly, from her long term coughing problem. This weekend, we inherited Minnie as Trav & Joanna headed south to Punta Cana. The colder weather has kept me from the workshop, but I did pick up two large pallets (4x8) with full 2x4s. I got one of them stripped down. They were new pallets, probably only used once, so they came apart very cleanly, providing me a good source of lumber. I have been back and forth with the surgeon this week, and my surgery date has been adjusted and readjusted as operating theatre schedules have changed. I was set for the 24th, which seemed like a good omen to me since that was Mom's birthday, but yesterday, they changed it to the 22nd, a week from Monday. Markets were troubled this week, and retreated in value. CPI came in higher than expected, raising inflation concerns. PPI came in lower than expected, lowering inflation fears. Investors didn't know what to do, so with the Monday USA market holiday, they sat on their hands! In hockey, my Oilers followed up their earlier eight game winning streak with another winning streak that has now reached a team record ten games! As a result, they have moved into a playoff position. Penguins are close, and Leafs are in a playoff position, but both lost tonight. #3-Jayhawks unexpectedly lost their game earlier in the week, but they came back with a solid win today. Since #1, 2 and 5 also lost, it's hard to predict where they'll be ranked next week! The curling world is focused on Lloydminster this week, and my guy, Kevin Koe has qualified for the playoffs. We'll see what he can manage tomorrow. 

The Saskatchewan families have hunkered down against the extremely cold weather out there. Erica did venture into Saskatoon for a medical referral. Liam and his team ventured into the frigid northern Saskatchewan for presentations at Canoe Lake. We're glad they made it safely home again!

We remember

Erin has begun dismantling her Christmas tree, but not before taking time to appreciate the Sadie memento in recognition of their first Christmas after her passing. Kristian has been putting in extra hours at school as he works to earn additional math credit. 

Travis and Joanna delivered Minnie to us. Moxley and Darby are being cared for at home by Max, who is also in charge of the house. Travis and Joanna have escaped the cold and storm for two weeks in Punta Cana—we're jealous!

And that's about enough for this week. 

It's beginning...

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The temperatures have remained comfortable, but the snow has arrived, and it's finally beginning to look a lot like Christmas! We got a snowfall on Sunday, and then another good dump last night, so I got the snowblower out for the first time, and it ran well. We enjoyed a New Year celebration with Travis & Joanna; they helps us complete a puzzle that evening. We continue to make progress on the side entry, and Wendy has begun another 1000-piece puzzle. I have revised my investment plays. I began the year with a good green week, despite the fact that all indices are in the red. Investors are struggling with their response to several issues. The USA economy is going great guns with another 200K+ month of job creation, wage growth and the unemployment rate at record lows. However, ISM data show weakness in consumer enthusiasm and spending.  But, inflation is retreating. We're not doing nearly so well up here: job creation is flat, even though wage growth is good and unemployment rate is satisfactory. Meanwhile investors are wondering:

-Big time job creation: That will allow the FED to keep rates high? Sell

-Inflation falling: That will cause the FED to drop the rates! Buy
-ISM number weak: That will force the FED to drop rates! Buy
-ISM number weak: That means the USA is headed for recession! Sell

And thus, we had a week of indecision with equity values falling. 

In the world of sports, we watched the completion of the World Junior Hockey Championships. We were shut out of the medals, while USA beat Sweden to collect the gold. My three teams put up good action in the NHL. The Leafs solidified their place. Oilers and Pens rode their improved play up the standings and now sit just two points out of the playoffs. The #2-Jayhawks began conference play today, and while playing sloppy, still managed to eke out a 2 point win. Rock Chalk Boys! 

Eric and Erica spent the week in Australia and enjoyed touring around there, including a snorkeling trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. Truly, it was the trip of a life time. They have now arrived back in Canada, and will be adjusting to the time and climate change! 

Erin continues her training work with her replacement. Her employer was expecting her to be moved over to Volkswagen by now, but they underestimated how much work she is actually doing! Besides, it's yearend time (the busiest time of the year), and she wishes to help with that before moving on. Kristian did not get as much Math completed over the break as he was expecting (and we were hoping). He needs this if he hopes to get into Sask Polytech in the Fall. 

Travis & Joanna joined us to welcome in 2024 and do a jigsaw puzzle. Now, they're enjoying the last days of Jonas & Gemma's visit, and are also busy back at work. Andrew & Rosie made a road trip to Toronto to visit family down there. We're glad they're safely back home. 

Challenging Jigsaw!

And that's enough for this week!