03/11/2023
A LONG OVERDUE WORLDS RECAP…
The dogs had fun. KERPLUNK!, KABOOM! and Kizzy all did their jobs but fell short of any finals appearances. I enjoyed picking up the pom-poms and playing cheerleader for Melanie and Kyloh as they did make the cut and went on to battle it out in the Gladiator IronDog finals.
I would have gladly taken home the worlds crud than deal with the hand I was dealt any day. I started feeling some sciatic nerve pain in my hip and leg on the last day of qualifying rounds in Dubuque. The pain progressively got worse. Since returning home over the past two weeks I have seen chiropractors, an orthopedic specialist, been prescribed a medicine cabinet full of drugs that I cannot pronounce, been to the ER three times with the final visit resulting in being admitted to the hospital for over a week. Two separate MRIs both showed disc fragments that had broken loose and were in the nerve canal in my mid/lower back. Yesterday morning a team of neurosurgeons were able to successfully remove the fragments after about a three and a half spinal surgery. I was forewarned that the surgery could possibly be done by removing some of the bone to access the nerve canal and trying to fish out the fragments but if that was unsuccessful, it would require a much more invasive procedure where my spine would need to be fused and hardware would need to be added. Thankfully they were successful with the first of the two options. Today I was allowed to go home.
I would like to thank the small community of friends that were aware of my situation for their love and support. Most notably, Gene from Alaska, who I met several years ago, who comes down to compete at Libertyville’s Dog Days of Summer was in the area for work this past week and took the time to stop by and visit. How cool is that? Who would ever thought that jumping a dog into a pool could result in establishing such a supportive friendship? This right here is the true meaning of the word “COMMUNITY”!
And mos, my beautiful girlfriend Melanie who has been my rock through it all. She has helped me do the simplest of daily tasks, driven me all over the place and not left my side while bedridden and in pain while awaiting surgery in the hospital as well as upon returning home. I love you and appreciate your devotion beyond words!
