Too much weight on my back?

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By CRAIG HALL

Hall about it

I don’t whine often and don’t believe in it — unless, of course, it’s justified.

But I need your thoughts, opinions and suggestions.

During the last part of the school year, it got to the point that I could not walk very far or stand for any length of time.

After consulting with my medical staff at Mercy, it was determined an MRI was necessary to find out what ailed the Craigman’s aging back — it does date back 63 years, despite my youthful appearance.

The MRI showed stenosis of my L4 and L5 vertebrae, pretty much the same thing that was wrong with my neck two years ago. This typically results in an operation where a portion of bone is shaved back to relieve pressure on the nerves.

But wait. Two days after visiting a neurosurgeon in Tulsa, the doctor confirmed the diagnosis and said that was what was needed. Then it was determined my A1C was high at 8.6 — since I couldn’t do anything like mow or do yard work, it had to get below 7.5 before I would be cleared for surgery.

At that point, it mainly hurt when I walked a lot or stood for long periods, mostly in my back and hip. Then, two days after that visit, I was cleaning out our little above-ground pool and there was an area just out of reach.

So I did what I always tell the kids not to do — I walked on the rail along the top of the pool. Everything was going fine. Then it wasn’t.

I felt the balance shift and started to fall into the pool. I tried to reach back for the deck to steady myself, but a body in motion, etc. I fell. The left side of my body hit the rail and I wound up in the pool, which was far too cold for this old coot.

My glasses came off and went into the pool, of course, so that became my main concern. The left side of my chest was hurting — it would eventually produce the largest bruise I have ever seen — and I noticed my hip was hurting even though I had only taken a few steps.

I finally found my glasses and thought everything was fine. It wasn’t. I don’t know if I further injured my back in the fall, but it has been pretty much constant pain since — in my back, right hip, leg and, well, the backside.

I tried to hurry things along with the neurosurgeon, whom I won’t name for reasons I’ll get into shortly.

First, I had to get that A1C below 7.5. So I completely cut out sweets — no easy feat for the Craigman — and cut back to two meals a day. I started noticing my blood sugar was running low often, and the alarm on my Dexcom went off frequently telling me I needed to get food or a drink into my system.

I did some research and was told it would be nearly impossible to lower my A1C that much in three months. I was worried. But I had a new test done and it came back at 6.8. I was stunned.

I contacted my neurosurgeon’s office to have the clearance faxed to my physician. I left a message. No return call the first day, or the next. I finally reached an actual person, asked about getting the surgery scheduled and was told she would check on it and get back to me.

Despite several more messages, I have not been able to reach a real person since — and I have not heard back.

So I have spent the summer in the worst pain of my life. I can walk across the room, but now need a walker to go any real distance. When we go to Walmart, I sit in the waiting area with my trusty walker while my wife shops.

I make short trips to the post office, Harp’s or the Dollar Store, but even those are rough. I need to get this operation done soon, or I will not be able to return to work in August.

So for those of you who have been through the same back problems — tell me who you saw and how it was handled. I don’t want to lose part of my spine, but I also want to get back to a normal life and away from the heating pad, the constant pain and moving like someone twice my age.

I have attempted to get in with other neurosurgeons with no luck so far.

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