Man Down

As many of you know I have been battling a couple of torn and herniated discs in my back for the last year and a half. Well things have been great for the last 6 months and we were just starting to think I was out of the woods. Then a week and a half ago I was just sitting at my desk working when I started to feel a little uncomfortable. So I stood up to try and see if I could feel a little more comfortable. I didn’t make it more than two steps. I’ll put it the way the I did when the doctor later asked me, “where is your pain on a scale of 1 to 10?” And I replied, “If 10 is the worst pain you have ever experienced in your life, then I will go with 10.”

I think I went into shock or something, and I am man enough to admit it, I was crying and couldn’t really think straight. Since I was unable to move at all and I was at the bottom of our stairs Emily decided to call an ambulance. When the kids saw the condition I was in and Emily told them that she called an ambulance for me, they had some interesting reactions.

Lila lost it and collapsed on her bed crying. So Emily told her everything was OK and that she should go talk to me. It was so sad when she talked to me because she was keeping a tough face and trying not to cry but she couldn’t help it. I explained to her that I was ok and that the ambulance was just coming to give me special medicine that we didn’t have at home. Then she said, “So you aren’t going to die?” It was so sad and so sweet of her.

Meanwhile Zack seemed to be aware that something was wrong so he kept coming over and gently patting me on the chest, and then going back to playing.

Abby on the other hand seemed to be oblivious. She was packing Weebles tightly around my head and holding them up periodically to ask me what each of their names were.

When the ambulance came I had composed myself (I couldn’t look like a sissy in front of the firemen and EMTs of course). I think they thought things weren’t so bad, so they first tried to get me up and have me walk out while they supported my weight. That hurt so bad that I got dizzy and almost threw up. They strapped me into some chair and I passed out while 5 men carried me up the stairs and into the ambulance.

And for all you doubters that have accused Emily of giving up and quitting on our blog, worry no longer. While I was being hauled away in the ambulance, Emily had the frame of mind to whip out her cell phone and snap a nice blurry shot for the blog.

My doctor seems to think things will be OK and I will heal. He hooked me up with plenty of pain killers for the first week or two. Then I will just have to start over and do a better job about my physical therapy, etc. this time around. We will know more after my next visit, they may do an MRI.