Back on the road again

Grabcon

Grabcon

Joined
Jul 24, 2011
Messages
1,027
Age
71
Location
Hereford, AZ
Bike
2020 Moto guzzi V85T
Today is 99 days since this was done to my lower back.

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Yesterday was my last PT session. Today was the first ride I have taken since the fix to the back. The bride and I did about 80 miles. I am pleased with the results. At this moment I feel great after the ride. Last Saturday and Sunday we did some light chainsawing and wood chipping.

Things are moving along. The X-rays show my back and there are screws and rods as well as bone grafts to fuse L3/L4 and L4/L5. I am learning how to move differently since things don't bend where the used to. Do I have pain? Some but nothing like the last 10 years. Plus if there is any pain it goes away quickly, nothing lingers.

The bride and I now need to get in shape for a trip to Paonia, CO in mid July for the Top of the Rockies Rally. About 1800 miles round trip. We are excited.
 
Uncle Phil said:
Ain't it great that they still do repairs on us older models - unlike most older motorcycles! :biggrin:
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True but if it wasn’t for insurance we would end up like older motorcycles in the junkyard some where. Those bits and pieces they put in me were just slightly south of $500k. Well that is what the hospital billed insurance. I am sure that with all the ad ons, like in home care and PT, out patient PT follow up visits, etc, we are now north of that number. That number is way beyond my pocket book.
 
I feel your pain brother. I had the same back in 2011 and now I need L1/L2 and L2/L3 done in the next month or so. Congrats on getting back on the road!
 
Grabcon said:
True but if it wasn’t for insurance we would end up like older motorcycles in the junkyard some where.
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Ain't that the truth - I'd be junked out for parts by now! ;)
I figure if I average the age of all my new parts with my OEM date, I'm about 16 years old! :biggrin:
 
Uncle Phil said:
Ain't that the truth - I'd be junked out for parts by now! ;)
I figure if I average the age of all my new parts with my OEM date, I'm about 16 years old! :biggrin:
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You need to be careful. If you keep getting new parts you won't be old enough to ride with thinking like that. :rofl1::rofl1::rofl1:
 
Grabcon said:
Today is 99 days since this was done to my lower back.

View attachment 312952

View attachment 312953

Yesterday was my last PT session. Today was the first ride I have taken since the fix to the back. The bride and I did about 80 miles. I am pleased with the results. At this moment I feel great after the ride. Last Saturday and Sunday we did some light chainsawing and wood chipping.

Things are moving along. The X-rays show my back and there are screws and rods as well as bone grafts to fuse L3/L4 and L4/L5. I am learning how to move differently since things don't bend where the used to. Do I have pain? Some but nothing like the last 10 years. Plus if there is any pain it goes away quickly, nothing lingers.

The bride and I now need to get in shape for a trip to Paonia, CO in mid July for the Top of the Rockies Rally. About 1800 miles round trip. We are excited.
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Great news. I had a similar procedure done at L5-S1, then again 2 years ago at L5-L4. Significant improvement, but not to the level that I wanted, or expected. Sitting for even 30 minutes is still difficult and lifting even light loads causes more pain.
Go easy on yourself for awhile, even though it feels good so far. Your body is still healing.
Glad to hear you're able to ride again!
 
Kevcules said:
Great news. I had a similar procedure done at L5-S1, then again 2 years ago at L5-L4. Significant improvement, but not to the level that I wanted, or expected. Sitting for even 30 minutes is still difficult and lifting even light loads causes more pain.
Go easy on yourself for awhile, even though it feels good so far. Your body is still healing.
Glad to hear you're able to ride again!
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I have something call Spondylolisthesis this is where the vertebrae became misaligned from disk and bone deterioration. L5/S1 for me were fused compliments of arthritis. I also have high bone density which presented issues for the surgeon as he had a very difficult time breaking the bones during the Laminectomy. Both my in home PT and out patient PT said that I was far beyond most that they have seen with the same surgery. Walking along with PT is one of the keys for a successful recovery. At the 9 month mark this will be the point where it is as good as it gets. This is for both pain and mobility. So this morning after my 80 mile ride yesterday I have no pain. I didn't wear my backtrace when I road. Today I have some yard work and I will wear the back brace as it keeps me honest with my movement. As an added note I wear a Bone Growth Stimulator for 2 hours a day, this is to help with the bone grafts healing.
 
We ST riders are an older breed, aren’t we??? Anyway, glad to hear about a successful surgery and rehab. I don’t dread getting older (what choice do I have?), but it does get tougher with time, I guess. Stay healthy everyone!
 
Erdoc48 said:
We ST riders are an older breed, aren’t we??? Anyway, glad to hear about a successful surgery and rehab. I don’t dread getting older (what choice do I have?), but it does get tougher with time, I guess. Stay healthy everyone!
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However, being motorcyclists... I believe that gives us a positive outlook on relationships, attitudes and just life in general which is probably one of the best recovery tools...
 
Erdoc48 said:
We ST riders are an older breed, aren’t we??? Anyway, glad to hear about a successful surgery and rehab. I don’t dread getting older (what choice do I have?), but it does get tougher with time, I guess. Stay healthy everyone!
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You could be like Uncle Phil and just get a bunch of new replacement parts and become younger.

I will tell you guys that once you hit 75 have replacement parts may not be an option. Insurance is looking at getting 10 years out of their investment once we hit 75 they are not seeing that 10 year quality of life.
 
June 28th was a 135 days since my surgery. The good news is my Doctor cleared me to get back to my life doing things with in reason. So the wife and I took a 400 mile Moto camping trip over a couple of days. The bad news is the doctor told me no power lifting and no motocross.

So I guess I am good to go for the Top O Rockies BMW rally in July. We are doing 1800 miles over 9 days but three are at the rally. Don’t want to push things to much so short days for riding, just more days on the road.
 
Today is 365 days since my back surgery. I can't believe how my quality of life has changed. From maybe 3 hours a day of movement to moving whenever and wherever I want. I have no idea why I didn't do this 10 years ago. Lessons learned "As we get older we don't have to show how tough we are. Life is not worth living if you can't move because of pain. I now can enjoy my kid's inheritance and have fun doing it."
 
Grabcon said:
Today is 365 days since my back surgery. I can't believe how my quality of life has changed. From maybe 3 hours a day of movement to moving whenever and wherever I want. I have no idea why I didn't do this 10 years ago. Lessons learned "As we get older we don't have to show how tough we are. Life is not worth living if you can't move because of pain. I now can enjoy my kid's inheritance and have fun doing it."
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My guiding rule is when I find myself saying "How is this going to affect (fill in the body part)?" it is time to get it fixed if it can be fixed.
Some things can't be fixed but it is amazing what can be with modern medicine these days - and the list grows longer every day.
I tell people that are thinking about knee replacements - "The first time you go down a set of steps and don't think about, you'll be glad you did it!" :biggrin:
 
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