The Aging Process

 As you get older, you understand the aging process from first hand knowledge, your body lets you know you are aging through its queues and hints.   Sometimes it is subtle and other times it is sudden.  On April 4, 2024 I received a  queue from my body concerning my back.      I had severe pain in my right leg and lost about half of the strength and function in the leg--just like a door had shut.  Bam!  I could not really walk, had a miserable time getting comfortable and could not sleep worth a damn.   Life had changed very suddenly for me.   

The message was delivered on a Friday and I got to my chiro-- a Cox Technique Chiro- on Monday and he started the procedure to decompress my L 4 vertebra which had a disk that had collapsed and was pinching a nerve causing the loss of muscle control and strength in my right outer leg.   Inner leg was good, as was my left leg.  I also have nerve related feelings in my right leg below the knee, it is "buzzy".     I dug out the crutches and used a lot of ice to try and get comfortable and so we began the recovery.   After about a week, my body had morphed into learning how to walk and get around with one good leg and half of another.  I tell everyone that it gets better about 1% per day.   But it does get better.   

The first week was spent on the couch and the next two weeks were spent frantically catching up at work, I need to perform monthly calls on a lot of accounts so we get paid properly, and that was difficult to do.     Eventually after four weeks I was getting pretty good at walking and needed a lot less rest stops to catch my wind and relieve the pain a bit.  I have been doing the yard work and keeping up with the firewood.  The storm in February tore down 8 trees and damaged several others and I had contractors do some of the work, but it would have been $15,000 for them to do it all.  So I have been picking away very slowly.   In my 20-20 hindsight, I think I may have brought on some of back situation with the heavy work load with the firewood.  That was way more bending over than I normally do. 

As far as this Summer and my racing and jumping--the Outdoor Season in 2024 is basically cancelled for me.  Who really knows, I could be done permanently.   But, I am going to think I can still race in 2025 when I get the back normalized again.  I am making great progress according to the chiro, but a complete fix can go up to 9 months.  Ok, that being said, 2024 is toast.  I had a great Indoor season, and it sad to not be able to follow that up with some outdoors results. 

I am still restricted on any work out I can do, I need to control my back movements and running is still a no no.  I tried a slow run last week during a little rain that was getting me wet going into a building for work.  I got wet, my right leg will not response and raise up to allow for a stride on the right side.  That has be eliminated prior to resuming running.   And on occasion, the right leg will lose some strength and kinda buckle a bit and that forces me to catch myself to keep upright.  That also needs to disappear as well.  I like the running and training and I will miss it this summer, but you get older and your body has other ideas. 

I am going for treatment twice per week and it really does help,  but getting back the muscle control is a ways away.  Until the muscle fires properly I will be a spectator and hoping for 2025 and some healing to arrive.