New Blog

I'm switching my blog address. Shoot me an email, and I'll provide you the new address. If you don't have my email address... sorry.

Gimme' A Break!

My health appointments since last year!

Dr. Hamula = General Physician
Dr. Goldsberry = Orthodontist
Dr. Wright = General Dentist
Dr. Snihurowych = Physiatrist
Dr. Dayton = Physical Therapist

March 5 - Dr. Goldsberry
March 7 - Dr. Hamula
April 9 - Dr. Goldsberry
April 15 - Dr. Goldsberry
May 12 - Dr. Wright
May 27 - Dr. Goldsberry
June 17 - Dr. Goldsberry
June 18 - Dr. Wright
July 14 - Dr. Goldsberry
August 4 - Dr. Goldsberry
August 25 - Dr. Goldsberry
September 15 - Dr. Hamula and Dr. Goldsberry
October 8 - Dr. Goldsberry
November 5 - Dr. Goldsberry
November 17 - Dr. Wright
November 25 - Dr. Goldsberry
December 10 - Dr. Goldsberry (x2)
December 11 - Dr. Wright
December 19 - Dr. Wright
December 23 - Dr. Wright and Dr. Hamula
January 8 - Dr. Wright and Dr. Goldsberry
January 16 - Dr. Wright
January 20 - Dr. Goldsberry
February 5 - Dr. Snihurowych
February 9 - MRI
February 11 - Dr. Snihurowych
February 12 - Dr. Snihurowych
February 24 - Dr. Dayton
March 3 - Dr. Dayton
March 4 - Dr. Snihurowych
March 9 - Dr. Wright
March 12 - Dr. Hamula and Dr. Dayton
March 31 - Dr. Goldsberry

I Spine With My Little Eye

Okay, part two of my back problems.

I met with Dr. Hamula who ordered some x-rays. Those x-rays seemed to indicate both Spondylolysis and Spondylolisthesis; an orthopedic condition.

I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Snihurowych (new doctor), and she ordered a couple more x-rays. She also expressed her concern about the numbness and dropped reflex in my left leg, and ordered an MRI.

My follow-up appointment with Dr. Snihurowych involved her entering the room and saying, "I do this job day in and day out, and don't usually get surprised anymore... you surprised me!"

The MRI showed a couple new problems with my L5 vertebra. I'll start with my annular tear, as defined by something I found on the Internet.

Our intervertebral discs change with age, much like our hair turns gray. Perhaps the earliest stage of degeneration occurs due to tears that occur in the annulus. These tears can result from wear and tear over a period of time. They can also be the result of a sudden injury to the disc due to a twist or increased strain on the disc that overpowers the strength of the annulus. These annular tears may cause pain in the back until they heal with scar tissue.


In additional to the annular tear, I also have impingement on the nerves running out of the vertebra. Terrific!

To ease my leg numbness, Dr. Snihurowych injected me with cortisone. That didn't go so well, and I nearly passed out on her first attempt. Thirty minutes and a few cookies later, I returned for a successful round two.

Guess what? To alleviate my condition, I had to start going to physical therapy too. Yea!

Mr. Bobackpain!

A lot could go into this blog post. I will skip all the history leading up to the diagnosis, and just stick to the facts.

Turns out, I have spondylolysis with spondylolisthesis. I like to combine the two conditions into one word, and call it spondidleyitis (spon-didle-ee-itis).

I'll provide a brief description below. Taken from this web site.

Spondylolysis is the medical term used to describe the presence of a "defect" or stress fracture in the posterior arch of the vertebra (see figure, arrow). It occurs at the lumbo-sacral junction (L5/S1) in about 85% of cases.

There is an increased incidence in people who take part in certain physical or sporting activities such as female gymnasts, fast bowlers in cricket, and weight lifters. These types of people are also more likely to experience symptoms due to this condition.



Spondylolisthesis is the term used to describe the presence of a spondylolysis where there has also been anterior translation of the vertebra with the lysis (usually L5), on the vertebra below (usually the sacrum).

The development of a spondylolysis which then goes on to a spondylolisthesis is usually associated with significant low back pain, but in most cases the situation will stabilise and pain will settle. It is only where severe pain persists, or features of nerve root irritation or compression develop that surgical intervention is indicated at this stage.


In a word, my L5 vertebra fractured and slid forward (I fit into the 85% category as described above). The fracture is old, and probably happened years ago (perhaps in High School), but I remain unsure how this happened since I am not a female gymnast, fast cricket bowler or weight lifter. :)

Okay... guess what? That's the good news. I'll post the bad news another day so this post doesn't bore you to death with medical terminology.

Teaser: I received an MRI, and the doctor who read the results came into the room and said, "I do this job day in and day out, and don't usually get surprised anymore... you surprised me!"

I Was Friends With A Murderer

Sound shocking? It's true.

For a length of time (maybe '83 through '86), David was my best friend. He liked monsters, and was obsessed with the movie Teen Wolf. Of course, that made us peas in a pod. I still have specific memories about the games we played during sleepovers, and some of our conversations.

Jump forward 25 years, and I see my former friend on the news; accused of murder and attempted murder.

You can see a press release about his sentencing by clicking here.

Nancy sent me the link last year (2/15/08), and I've had it in my inbox ever since. I can hardly believe I've had it there that long. I held onto it because I wanted to blog about it, but I wanted to scan a picture of David first.

I finally dug into the stuff under stairs, and here you go, David at my birthday party.


Yes, that's David holding the dart gun. Creepy huh?

In case you're wondering... I'm the one in the back craning his neck with the cheesy smile.

Facebook 25 Things

A few people tagged me to complete the "25 things about me" list. However, I've completed a handful of similar lists in the past for my blog. So, I thought I would list 25 things you might not already know about me.

1- My teacher sent me to the principal's office in 4th grade. Recess ended and we couldn't get into our classroom. I climbed through an outside window, and opened the classroom door to let the other kids in. The teacher didn't like hearing that once she decided to show up.
2- I don't like wallpaper. Never have, never will.
3- I taught myself all the practical knowledge I know about computers. People often ask, “How do you know all this stuff?”
4- I don’t take any medications.
5- One night I returned from a friend’s house, and found two huge beetles on my back when I took my shirt off. Not on the back of my shirt… on my skin. I do not know how they got there.
6- I marked the scenes (the person who calls out, "Scene 3, Take 5!" Clack!) on a mattress commercial with Vanna White. We filmed in a studio, inside the state capital, and in front of the City and County building.
7- I like digital volume controls knobs to show even numbers. I listen at level 22 not 23, etc.
8- My parents brought me home from the hospital in a giant Christmas stocking.
9- I don’t have any phobias. But, I get a little nervous when water rafting, and climbing high on extension ladders.
10- I had just turned 15 when my father died at the age of 50. I didn’t understand people’s comment at the funeral about how young we both were. Now I do.
11- I have won the top raffle prize at a couple events.
12- I will not kill anything on purpose except mosquitoes. I will not kill spiders I see in my house. Ear wigs seem a lot creepier to me than spiders, and spiders eat ear wigs, so I consider them my little exterminators.
13- Generally speaking, I can fix or repair anything mechanical.
14- I’ve lived in three different countries, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brazil.
15- My only surgery happened in 1994. I hurt my left middle finger while changing the oil in my Mustang.
16- I still own nearly all of my childhood toys.
17- I earned the home economics Student of the Year award in Jr. High.
18- I once killed a robin with a slingshot. Sure, I aimed for it, but I guess I never expected to hit it. I'll never forget the image of it rolling down the hill, and since the rock didn't kill it right away, I had to watch it die. It makes me sick just remembering it.
19- I’ve never gone TP’ing.
20- I estimate I own $25,000 worth of Halloween decorations.
21- I can climb just about anything, and have the nickname Spider Matt.
22- Light switches that do not line up drive me nuts. I like them all up or all down. Not one up and one down.
23- I got lost in the Uintah Mountains as a child. Luckily, I found my way back right before dusk.
24- Once while in high school, I burned some pine needles in my back yard. My neighbor (such a witch) called to tattle on me. Well guess what? My mom asked me to burn the pine needles, so she told Melody to just mind her own business.
25- There are three types of people in this world, those who know how to count, and those who don’t.

12-12-2012

According to the ancient Mayans, my 38th birthday falls on Dooms Day. I hadn't heard that before yesterday, but it seems like the real date to worry about is 12-21-2012. My web searches turned up results for both days, so I feel confused. I only know for sure that the Mayan calendar ends on 12-21-2012.

This crop circle spells out 12-12-2012.


Some sites discuss my birthday as the date for the end of the world. Such as this one, 12-12-2012.

And other sites discuss December 21st, such as this one, 12-21-2012.

At any rate, I guess it would make more sense to turn 36 instead of 38. You know 12 + 12 + 12 = 36.

Happy Dooms Day!