How did that happen? No blog posts since the end of August – egad! Have I just been lazy?
Not really, it was a busy medical month for us. I won’t bore you with all the details, suffice it to say we aren’t done yet. In spite of that, Stu did work on Rusty (one or two, I don’t remember) a bit. That will continue for a while. He’s bought a lot of tools and other things to help in the process. Me? Binge-watching TV while my leg heals, feels better when elevated. Aging isn’t for sissies.
But here are some photos taken in September for you to enjoy…
Stu added a crane to the overhead area above the office space to help him get heavier items up and down.
Some sky photos…
The engine hoist was actually used to hoist an engine…
The azaleas we planted in May are still blooming…
We visited our local restaurant at Cumberland Mountain General store – BLT with onion rings. Our new go to and only 10 minutes away.
And Cooper pics…
If you’ve scrolled this far, here is some of the medical stuff. Stu has been having severe back issues since May and after PT, cortisone injections, x-rays, and an MRI, he was referred to a neurosurgeon. What was thought to be sacroiliac joint inflammation turned out to be severe stenosis in the lower spine along with a pinched nerve. He is scheduled for an outpatient keyhole surgery on the 23rd.
“Spine “keyhole” surgery, or minimally invasive decompression surgery, is a procedure using a small incision and a tubular retractor with a camera to access and relieve pressure on a pinched spinal nerve. Common types include foraminotomy (widening the nerve passage), laminotomy (removing part of the lamina), and discectomy (removing part of a herniated disc), all aimed at resolving nerve compression caused by disc material, bone spurs, or thickened ligaments. Key benefits include less muscle disruption, reduced pain, a smaller scar, and a faster recovery compared to conventional open surgery.” {Google}
As for me, I had my annual dermatology exam in August and they found two more skin cancer spots, both on my right shin. One was a basal cell and the other squamous cell. On September 5th, the surgeon excised the basal cell and laser treated the squamous cell. The stitches for the excision were removed a couple weeks later and all looked good. I returned in a couple more weeks to check the laser spot and it turned our the excision site had opened back up. He packed it with collagen and I will continue to visit until he is satisfied. On Oct 8th I finished my annual dermatology exam (they had to stop after four biopsies in August) and had three more biopsies done. Sigh…it will be 2-3 weeks before I get those results. Oh joy! Lots of bandaids being changed out 2x a day.
In family news, my sister-in-law unexpectedly passed away from lung cancer (she had already had cancer twice before, bladder and more recently breast) a short time ago. In less than two weeks after she passed, her husband (my brother) was diagnosed with lung cancer. Yes, they were both life-long smokers. He has no staging or treatment plan yet, he gets a PET scan done on the 23rd (same day as Stu’s surgery).
Well, that’s enough medical stuff (for those of you who hung in there). I’ll update as I can…
