Stopped by the blog today and realized its been over a year since I posted anything. Grr...I need to carve out some time each week and just sit down and write something. I mean, I didn't stop smoking or BBQing during that time. In fact, I intended to try and smoke something(s) every weekend. I did pretty well for a good 5-6 month stretch, but then things started to slow down a bit.
For the last year or so I've had some physical problems that have really put a crimp in all my hobbies (I have a new hobby I'll show you later!). I can't pinpoint when ,but several months ago I developed numbness in my legs,feet,hands and torso, along with screaming pains in my legs. It was so bad I was hobbling around like an 80 year old man! Initial testing showed a herniated disc in my lower back causing severe sciatic irritation. Surgeon says drugs and PT won't help and surgery is imminent. So, there goes most of my summer.
I spent most of July and August laying in bed or in the recliner. My recliner has a direct line of site out the window to my smoker, in the back yard. The good news is I’ve seen every movie that's been released in the last 2 year ( most of them were horrible, by the way!), the better news is I still have not succumbed to the Walking Dead or Game of Thrones phenomenon! The bad news...and this is really bad….my “Smoke every weekend” campaign came to a screeching halt!.
September rolled around and I was back to work and back to rolling smoke. Another dose of good news/bad news came with September. The good news was my leg pain and sciatic problem was gone! The bad news was that all of the other numbness, burning and pain was still there. That didn't stop me though. Thanks to my awesome wife, who also loves to BBQ & smoke. She pushed me and jumped in with me and we started smoking again!
One of the main reasons I wanted to get back in the smoke was a local BBQ Rib competition I found out about. Les and I have both wanted to try and get into BBQ competition and this would be the perfect entrance! We jumped in and, if I recall correctly, we proceeded to smoke 2 racks of ribs every weekend, for six weeks to prepare for the competition. I was in heaven!
Sadly, living in the “Grand Bois du Nord” of New Hampshire has some drawbacks. The fact that we’re hundreds of miles from BBQ Country is a big one for me. Unfortunately, there just arent enough people up here that BBQ and, after 6 weeks of practice,practice, practice, we got word that the competition was canceled for lack of competitors.. :(
Throughout all that practice, I was still experiencing pain and numbness all over. While the sciatica was gone, the rest of the problem still remained. In fact, I was still not able to walk without a cane and significant limp. Back to the doctor I go. My doc has no idea of course so he sends me to the neurologist upstairs. After another MRI, this time on my neck, they discover another herniated disc and,along with it, a contusion on my spinal cord. The neurologist sees this and is confident this is the root the problem. Back under the knife I go!
This past November I went back in for the 2nd time this year and had the neck disc repaired. This one was much more painful than before and, AGAIN, I’m forced to stare out the window at my beloved smoker while she seems to be crying to me “why do you ignore me Big Ricky, why?”
It’ll be 4 weeks, Tuesday, since surgery and I’m definitely feeling better from the operation. My neck and shoulders still get sore, but I expect a little PT will fix that. The numbness and burning in my hand is still there, which makes me sad. The good news is my balance is better and walking seems to be improved as well. Again, I fully expect to see major improvements in my walking after I get a little muscle back.
The best news of all...there’s a chuck roast defrosting in the fridge and the Q will be fired up Saturday! I’ll be sure to document it here on the blog.
That's my story and I’m stickin’ to it!
