Welcome back, everyone! Hooray!

[Lorraine 1966]

I did not know what was going on, have had so much going on in my life and when I finally went to log on, no one was here anymore, so sad but very glad you are all back.

Lorraine.

[JenniferG]

Anybody heard from Melissa?

[WLB1]

Hooray! Happy virtual Dance!

[titaniumed]

Great pic Ti Ed!!!!! Love it!

sha

I knew you would get a kick out of that.

This is the only time running is recommended for full fusion patients!

There was a fisherman there throwing frozen fish at him to keep him happy...... His stomach was frozen but he was happy. These guys are fishing the “Hannibal banks” on the edge of the park, which is a VERY productive fishery....... They come by helicopter.....

Ed

[tae_tap]

Ed, My husband wants to know how fast did you run when you noticed the man eating creature so close? Hehe!

[titaniumed]

Tito is the main attraction and is fed by the fisherman all the time.....I don’t think he would want to jeopardize being turned into a handbag.......If he ever ran after anyone, the scientists down there would simply move him. He is the main draw and keeps the money flowing in, so they keep him fed......He is actually the CFO down there, with the bonus being free fish dinner every evening. That’s not a bad deal for a crocodile. (smiley face)

It was a great trip and had no spine related issues I couldn’t handle. I cant see down and keep my secondary in my left hand. I also do water entries and remove gear in the water so there is no lifting of anything heavy. The people on the boat also strap my BC on since I cannot look down at all being fused. I did drop my fin once and the captain dove straight down to around a 50ft depth to retrieve it. These guys dive deep without any equipment. Its amazing....

We saw whales breeching everywhere, scarlet macaw’s in the wild, monkeys, birds, etc. Dove with a huge whale shark, and a 20 foot manta ray, and other associated large pelagic’s. Ecotourism works....Glad to see someone putting this to good use.
Now we just have to get the rest of the planet to think the same way. If we destroy our oceans, everyone will be eating jellyfish sandwiches soon. Destroying old growth tropical rain forests leaves no chance that our scientists can answer questions and possibly find things of extreme value.

Funny how we have to go broke before we learn......and this doesn’t have to happen.

Ed

[susancook]

My friends are back, my friends are back, my friends are back, my friends are back...

I called Irina tonight and found out the the forum was alive, which made my day.

My friends are back, my friends are back, I need my friends!

I checked for the forum every day for a while and then kind of gave up. I did not realize how much the forum meant to me. I missed so many people that I did not have other email addresses for. I also decided to put my diary of my scoliosis surgery on the forum. When it went down, it was lost. I thought that I would download my thread at my 2 year postop point and put it in a notebook, but will do that soon in case it is lost agin. Actually....is there something other than this? I have not checked if my old bread is there.

Anyway, glad that we are back!

Susan....and her ever growing menopause baby

[jrnyc]

hey TiEd
Tito looks like one of those big shot CFO's...the ones who eat
and sleep where ever they want to!!
glad you had a great time...
you are very brave...i would have been at the nearest Mariott...

jess...and Sparky, the wildest creature i ever spend time with

[kennedy]

So glad this is back. Hey everyone I been ok. Thinking about you all latey .

[Nancy Joy]

Well, I have no idea how long this was down but sure would have been disappointed yesterday to find that! Susie Bee- I see you are still on. You were always such an encourager for me. I hope you are doing well. Ed, you are still traveling! What wonderful stories you have. Are you still snow skiing? That was unbelievable for me. I scuba dived (from shore) last year at St. Thomas. I tried to stand up with the tank on my back and couldn't do it. OK- I hadn't told them about my surgery so the family was all looking at me to see what I would do. Brave one that I am (stubborn?) I asked the instructor if he could please support it while I walked to the water- that I am just tiny and weak. He did! LOL!!! loved it. So great to share here.

[titaniumed]

Hi Nancy

Good to see you chiming in again.....I hope your spine is fine....I see you are 5 years today!

I will also shore dive like you mentioned, but I drag my BC and tank out into water around 4 feet deep and strap in. With boat diving, I’m very upfront about what I can and can’t do (no lifting and no back rolls out of boats) and what I expect from the people on the boat. I have never had any problems as divers are a great bunch of people...... I also flooded my computer, and my regulator was screwing up, but still had a blast.....If your trained correctly, you don’t need these things anyway.
I started diving because of scoliosis in 1995....(Maui dive shop) Intro dives were a cheap $52 back then!

I think it is wise to be open and communicate about our spines.....Years ago, I would never ask for a hand at anything, but going through major surgeries teaches you this. The ICU nurses teach you this at the most critical time...... It only makes sense, we shouldn’t have to lift anything, after all, we paid our dues.....
I will communicate with strangers about it, it promotes awareness, makes people think, and can be of some benefit. If a parent just learned about an Adams bend test from me, and checks his or her 11 yr old out and sees something, I guess that’s a good thing. I also feel that people should be aware of others afflictions.....Some of these young kids these days, I have to straighten them out....they don’t even know who Elvis is. (Are you kidding me?)

I ski when it snows, but the last 2 seasons out here were the worst in 30 years.....Hopefully, the winds of Thor will be blowing cold this winter......

The forum went down for about a month, and yes, it was kind of sad in a way to think “Wow, I don’t have the support of my scoli friends out there”It was like the old days..... I always knew that Joe would finally get it back up and running at some point.....servers and software are not cheap and can be a royal pain sometimes. Thanks Joe.

Ed

[PeggyS]

Asking for help

I think it is wise to be open and communicate about our spines.....Years ago, I would never ask for a hand at anything, but going through major surgeries teaches you this. The ICU nurses teach you this at the most critical time...... It only makes sense, we shouldn’t have to lift anything, after all, we paid our dues.....
I will communicate with strangers about it, it promotes awareness, makes people think, and can be of some benefit. If a parent just learned about an Adams bend test from me, and checks his or her 11 yr old out and sees something, I guess that’s a good thing. I also feel that people should be aware of others afflictions.....Some of these young kids these days, I have to straighten them out....they don’t even know who Elvis is. (Are you kidding me?)

Ed[/QUOTE]

Ed,

Your post about learning to ask for help is something I've struggled with, too. I haven't had my scoliosis surgery, yet, but I've started learning to ask for help during my recovery from our motorcycle accident this summer. The accident was north of Gerlach, NV on our way to Oregon. I noticed you're from Reno. We spent the month of July with our friends who live there. We're in Ohio.
It's getting easier to ask for help. I think this recovery has been my 'dress rehearsal' for my future scoliosis surgery. Then I'll think this one was easy! I keep telling God that I really didn't need to practice ahead of time!
My husband & I are former scuba divers - we took the class in college ( in the 70's) & dove in quarries. We quit that right after we experienced diving in the Caribbean! I'm amazed that you (& Nancy) can dive! I tried about 8 years ago & felt like I'd been run over by a semi for the following week!
I'm still dr shopping! Your posts have been very helpful!

Peg

[JuliaAnn]

I better make time soon to copy and save useful threads from this board. I had a couple questions when the board was down and just knew the answers were here somewhere. This board is so very valuable. I really appreciate it being here. Thanks to all who keep this board running! And like others, this board was the only place I wrote some details about my post-op. So losing it was like losing a journal.

Ed, I did a double take with your photo! The location is beautiful, you're so fit for having so many surgeries. I saw the beautiful scene and then I thought WHAT? WHAT??? is that a crocodile?. And you're standing there so nonchalant, like this is no biggie for you to face. ha ha Really a fun photo.

[Irina]

Peggy,

Asking for help is hard for some of us, especially if you're not used to it. Talk to your husband and friends about what the surgery entails, what restrictions will you have and why. It's important for them to understand why you can't bend or lift. They need to be educated. Give your husband David Wolpert book to read. When people around you understand the magnitude of the surgery, you would not even have to ask for help much - they'd be willing to help.

Good luck with a doctor shopping and recovery from your motorcycle accident.

[loves to skate]

Looks like that alligator (or is it a crocodile) has his eyes on you Ed for mucho comida! Ha ha!