I sobered up in May of 1977. I'll stay out of your way as well. It does not appear that you have good luck with alcoholics; the drunk and sober ones http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...on_biggrin.gif. I'm real sorry about your accident.

Whenever I go down I always look at my bicycle first to access the damage and then look at all of the blood pouring out of me. Whoever does not own a fine bike will not understand that sentiment.

I sure hope you get fixed OK. The cervical arena seems to have better outcomes and a better healing time.

I had two level cervical and two level lumbar and still have some pain in the lumbar but damn near non-existent in the cervical area.

Hang in there.

Terry Newton

Well we all have our problems. Glad to hear you have been sober that long. I didn't mean to imply anything. That was just the facts of the crashes. It was actually a statement she made that I read trying to remember anything. It could have been anyone on a phone or text messaging someone while driving. Thats one of the reasons I need to get the surgery. I see what the pain pills do for people and do to families. Its not fair that the insurance companies deny people the testing they need so they can get the surgeries that might stop the pain. I have to take pain pills and muscle relaxers now. I just don't want to take them forever. I am hoping to go back to work eventually. I am close to the point I can retire but it's not financialy a good thing to do at this point, but I may not have a choice. I am suprised at the amount of people that go overseas to get the surgery. It may be a last resort for me. So you are healing well and having good motion in your neck. Thats good news since I will be putting it below 3 fused levels. I was doing good with the three fused levels until the crash. I guess you were impressed with the Stenum Hospital? How are you getting around now?

I was just joking about the alcoholics. There was no offense taken by me at all. I was trying to make a little light of the situation.

My neck had a lot of arthritis in it prior to the disc replacement. I had a hemi-laminectomy in '95 at The Mayo Clinic. I could not turn my head all the way to my left anymore for about three to four years prior to the disc replacement. Now I can touch my shoulders with my chin. I am very thrilled with my range of motion.

As far as how I am getting around I rode 1,800 miles on my bicycle prior to the surgery. Last Summer, while healing from 4 level ADR, I rode 2,234 miles on my bicycle. This Winter I have been on a spinning bike and out snowshoeing. I have not skied yet as I cannot afford to land on my butt.

I was impressed with Stenum and believe they did right by me. The place draws a lot of controversy on the forum here but I am doing well. You may PM me if interested and I will give you my phone number to share my experiences.

I still have some pain in the lumbar area and believe the recovery for the lumbar area is much harder. A lot of people do go overseas for this surgery as they are still not approved to do multi-level disc replacements in the States yet.

Let me know if you want to chat further.

Terry Newton