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Bluefin Injury......OUCH!

3K views 21 replies 11 participants last post by  juro 
#1 ·


This was back in Nov. Dec. trying to keep from having surgery. This was much more uncomfortable than it is funny believe me. :chuckle:





This is unfortunately post-surgery which I had to have Feb. 7th. I have to wear this damn neck brace 24/7 until March 16th when if there is a God in heaven the doctor will allow me to remove it. Having to wear this also means I cannot drive which means my wife has been my chaffeur lately. I think what did this was chasing those damn addictive SBFT back in July 2005. I had a couple of days where the water was not what you would call friendly, but one particular day we had to slog 11 mi. back to Pt. Judith in 5-7 ft. steep breaking waves and there was nothing I could do to keep from jarring my body without stopping completely. After that I was fine but woke up one morning feeling like I had slept wrong and it just got worse from there. Thankfully I have a friend who had the same injury and he put me in touch with his surgeon while I was in tears one morning with him on the phone. The pain that neck/back injuries cause is something I can totally relate to now, believe anyone who tells you they are in excruciating pain from a back/neck injury. It may be the most debilitating thing in the world. I am very excited about the upcoming season because I fished in pain 100% of the time from last July till I put the boat up in Mid-November.

Well that is it I am just slowly healing up and waiting to get this brace off, hopefully I will be back fishing by the time the fish show up in good numbers.
 
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#2 ·
Here`s hoping for a speedy and complete recovery. Been asking all the guys if anyone had heard from you, we sure do miss your post. I was hoping you`d be at the SWE fair but now I can see why not.Looking forward to our next meeting OTW. Only 2 months till the calamare make thier way onto the reefs!
Slinger
 
#3 · (Edited)
Thanks for the kind words Steve. I am bummed that I missed the SWE fair I am sure there was talk of the SBFT bite last summer. I am hopeful that I will not have any lingering issues with this surgery and should be back in action soon.



This is a pic of what was done to me. The Surgeon goes in and removes the bad disc's and inserts cadaver bone grafts where the disc's used to be, this eventually fuses together.

If surgery is necessary, the anterior interbody cervical fusion is used to treat most problems in the neck caused by degenerative disc disease. These include unrelieved neck pain and pressure on the nerve roots caused by bone spurs or a herniated disc.
 
#4 ·
Mike,

Good to hear from you. Ditto on Slingers remarks. We were all wondering how you were doing. Glad to hear that it sounds like you are in good hands and on the mend in time for the season. While I didn't have anything near your experience I remember that day and have looked into a solution for my sore feet and body after those days when you push the limits of a 20' CC. I found a product called SeaShocks. It is a shock absorbing pad originally designed for use by the Navy and has had good reviews on The Hull Truth and other boating forums. You can get them in two versions that range from $80-$120 at seashocks.com.

Sean
 
#8 ·
Striper said:
Thanks Sean I need something like that as well. I have seen another product called Foot Cush I think and it is probably similar to the one you found.
Mike,

I hadn't heard of the Foot Cush before. I like the dimensions (its 10" longer) better than the Sea Shocks but I don't like the idea of drilling holes in my deck for the snap system. It looks like West or BoatUs may carry the Foot Cush so I am going to try and get a closer look before making the decision.

On an unrelated note. I was happy to see they increased the size limit for the bluefin but unhappy to see they increased the bag limit to 3 fish. Hopefully we see them again this year. Got to put the new 12wt to the test.

Sean
 
#9 ·
Kudos on having the guts to do what you needed to do brother, I'll be rooting for you on March 16th. As always, your sharing of this will help others realize how important it is to relieve impact on the spine when in pursuit.

Hang in there!
 
#11 ·
Sorry to hear of your misfortune, Mike. Hog-tied in the same position for such a long period of time. What the heck do you do with yourself:confused: all that time?
I spent last year without fishing once because of a compound fracture of my left leg two years ago. Just started to feel pretty good for an old man (77) when Jan 8,2006 I was turning into my driveway when I got slammed in the rear which totalled my Blazer the only thing that was good was the front of the Blazer back to the dashboard. The guys that know me know that I walk bent over because of of my back fused together by arthritis. I can't sleep more than an hour or two at a time. Can't stay in one position more than a few minutes. Here it is almost two months and I still have much pain. Stopped taken pain pills as they don't help. I can't sit long enough to even tie a fly. I am ashamed to go anywhere as I feel everyone is laughing cause I cannot straighten up. I was really looking forward to getting back in the swing of things, and again have the time to look around and fish around Quonny, now I don't know. Striper, you are young so I hope your body heals well and that you are as good as new, and continue to feed the great information to the group that you do. By the way I did get a new Nissan Xterra, and am hoping I get to run from Westerly to Charlestown again this year.:roll:
 
#12 ·
Sorry to hear about the surgery and I hope you're back up to speed asap! I have degenerative disk disease in my back and know the kind of pain you're talking about, it can really be a %^$&$%*%%&^$.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I can certainly empathise with you guys. It's a real drag ,I know. Just do what the doctors tell you because there're no second chances with your spine. I should have done more when I could and perhaps I'd be in a better place myself. Xerox won't be having me back because of my function loss. I'm headed back to college at 43 to finish my degree in environmental policy.

Art, that's a real lousy break, just when things were coming together with your other injury to get creamed by some inattentive driver just rots. Hang in there guys we're all pulling for you.
 
#18 ·
Thanks again all :)

I got my neck brace off last Thursday and I have been driving to work alone for the first time in well over a month. Man is it nice :smile: . Have to keep it cool for another two months till the doc can x-ray me and give me the official okee dokee to go back and beat myself up in the boat again. But you know me I will be at it again before the x-rays are even done. He said I could do the boat thing as long as I keep it on the easy side of crazy so I will be back in the boat probably within one month.


Tightlines....................:lildevl:
 
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