After my legs packing it in and being addmitted to hospital on black friday last experiencing a multitude of xrays mir scans 2 angiogramd to invrstigate amd gailed attempts to bring my legs back i had the big opperation yestetday. They cut some spine aeay and got access to 3 blood vessels cut them whatever land stapled me back togethet. Happily at eorst I will need a walking frame and npt a wheel chair and lose of all that stuff down thetr. I wanted to keep this private but I know some folk check to ser if I am alive via iceinspace..which is reallyy only contact with the putside world. To those folk i day sorry i dpnt keep in touch but let this serve as a repprt that i am alive and my recent experience
Sorry i still have to get a note pad such that editing can be done but i trust you can get my intended message..plus i have been awake since10 last nigh in intensive careand in charge of my pain relief injections . They said use as often as i needed it but the net effect of sleep deprev and pain killer has contributed to fat fingers
All the best to you mate. I have been there. 5 spinal procedures including a neural simulator implant, 2 fused discs, 3 more buggered and nerve damage. Unable to walk without help for a fair while and years on my back with damaging levels of narcotics (>600mg of morphine a day). Finally on the improve after a good surgeon did some cleanup and fused the 2 lower discs. That gave me a head start, getting help to get off the narcotics was the next since they were causing nerve damage and extensive pain, and now it is just day to day toughing it out to get fit again, to some degree. It all came down to how much life I wanted back.
Set goals, don't get upset if you don't achieve them when you planned to but just go step by step and work hard for them. And never let the painkillers own you. They are just a tool. Regardless, too long on them and they can be very painful to get off.
Thank you everyone for your kindness and advice.
I have not had pain killers until today and hopefully can ditch them ayyfter they temove the stapples in a week from today and I plan on talking to the Doctors to cut out stuff that presents a dependence risk. I have had to handle pain for years and basically just sucked it up. I suspect I have back pain I may have tp chamge my approach but the plan is to tuff it out if possible.
I am in the University hospital at South Port Queensland and they are wonderful. A girl I did not know turned up with a magic healing stone which she daid she found on my back ridge she knows thr chap I let live pn the front of the block a said she feels like she knows me from him talking about my astronomy and guitar playing. She brought a guitar sang me songs with the most wonderful voice blew me away ... So tha
was worrying but good.
Thank you everyone for your kindness and advice.
I have not had pain killers until today and hopefully can ditch them ayyfter they temove the stapples in a week from today and I plan on talking to the Doctors to cut out stuff that presents a dependence risk. I have had to handle pain for years and basically just sucked it up. I suspect I have back pain I may have tp chamge my approach but the plan is to tuff it out if possible.
I am in the University hospital at South Port Queensland and they are wonderful. A girl I did not know turned up with a magic healing stone which she daid she found on my back ridge she knows thr chap I let live pn the front of the block a said she feels like she knows me from him talking about my astronomy and guitar playing. She brought a guitar sang me songs with the most wonderful voice blew me away ... So tha
was worrying but good.
Hi Alex,
Hope you recover soon, I think most people over 40ish have had some back problems, but your's sound much more serious than my occasional twinge and a week or so pain and stiffness. I'm sure you'll be up and about in no time. By the looks of your last post, things are already looking up, not so many typos!
Thank you Kenny thank you Stuart. My back has always been strong so I expect it to come back. I am 67 but train a lot so I am in very good nik. Doctors are impressed by my strenght even though I could not walk I constantly exercised hopefully that investment of time will pay meaningful dividens. I have a goal to sail my boat single handed around the world and be the oldest man to do so..it doesnt matter if it happens but it is a goal that forces me to keep fit and mentally strong. By the time I do it it will be neat way to leave the planet. That was to remind me as opposed to telling folk what I am up to.
Astronomy and boats too mate, pity you aren't into cars too, we could bore each other to tears endlessly. I have a couple of boat projects I want to finish so I can get a large sailing cat to live aboard for a few months of the year up on the GBR.
What makes you think I am not into cars. I have had some alpha volvo merc lancia fulviabut moto cross was really my passion.. I suppose that may come as a surprise..I was reflecting on my own short coming a while back..I was bored in hospital..
I tell you something I have designed a cat to take the world record. It is interesting because in an effort to streamline the pontoon conection spars they became wings and I do believe this thing will fly ..the advantage being reduction of drag. There we go reasonable support for the proposition I am crazy.
I live on my boat from time to time and it is cool to fish and cook dinner at the same time.
Alex
Just the recent comments about people with cars mate. Not to worry, some interesting machines there. I never got the bug for motorcycles, although I fell off enough when I was younger. I love to build engines, which people think is a bit strange for an engineer with my areas of focus, but building my own race cars and engines was a real passion. It was a bit selfish so I turned my focus to boating and SCUBA diving so I could include my friends more, then my back gave out in a big way costing me 10 years of life.
I'm not certain I'd be too keen on getting a cat to fly. Managing airflow to maintain control would be difficult and the more stuff needed to control it would add more weight, and then you'd need to add more lift and thrust. Just build an Ekranoplane.
I think it would be nice to live aboard a while but my 40" motor cruiser will likely be thirsty and I don't think I can afford all that fuel on a defence disability pension. So once it is done, if I still have the bug I'll be looking at cats so I can sail with much lower expenses.
Geoff engineering is about building things that have major problems to overcome. I invent things and wait to see if someone else gets the idea..that way I dont have to do it..I like confirmation that my idea works that my thing. The net let me find that someone else had the idea developed it and proved the concept..I am not after money or recognition just only what I said proof a concept works.Boats are expensive so the smaller the better in my book. I could build up a pretty good 2 stroke although I have no qualifications.Thanks for taking the time to have a chat and for being a good sport re my car rant..it was just my humour running wild.
for the proposition I am crazy. 
