Cabin fever

Al killian

Member
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1,940
Location
Floydada, Tx
Hello, I am going crazy sitting in the house. On sep. 4th I had minor back surgery and the doctor wont let me do anything for atleast 4 weeks.:( After that he will let me do only minor stuff like scroll sawing for very limited burst(20 min. a wack). It is going to drive me crazy haveing to wait 10-12 weeks befor I can drive or get to do anything involing lifting. The part I really hate is the placement of the stimulator battery box, in the left upper cheek. The wife gets a good laugh every time I try to sit up( very tender).Atleast the wife is allowing me to get a few more subscirtions to different wood magazines to pass the time. Anyone else ever have to be stuck doing nothing for 3 month? If so, what helped you to pass the time? Now if I can get her to setup the pc in the living room on the coffee table for me.:rofl: OK, back to laying down.
 
Anyone else ever have to be stuck doing nothing for 3 month? If so, what helped you to pass the time? Now if I can get her to setup the pc in the living room on the coffee table for me.:rofl: OK, back to laying down.

April 22 I hurt my back - protruding disk, controlled by Phsyio, thankfully.
I spent most of the first 3 weeks laying on my stomach or back. I got bored, so I put a thermarest cushion on the coffee table, and lay on that - then I could put a laptop on the floor in front of me, and I could surf the web while laying on my stomach.

In your case, Al, I'd say this was a good excuse to get a wireless laptop so that you can surf the web from wherever you're stuck.

TV will rot your brain out, but this would be the time to wish that you had a TiVo storing up the past 6 months of insert-your-favourite-wwing-show-here.

Does your library carry videos? Good time to catch up on old episodes of Hometime or various FWW videos. Or pick some old classic movies or shows to pass some time.

Of course, you could always pick up a pencil and write the next great American Novel. Who knows, you could be the next J.K.Rowling... :rofl:
 
Al..........Layed on my back for 10 weeks recovering from a broken back in 2001. The one thing I did notice. Absolutely nothing of any significant value on television other than New Yankee Workshop, This Old House......Time to visit the local library.

Good luck with your recovery!
 
what about carving/whittlin'?

Carving could keep you occupied and at least involved with wood.

Hope you get better soon.
 
Al,

Lay down, chill out and quit yer whinin'!!!:soapbox:


:doh: In all seriousness, the best thing for a back injury is rest, according to your doctor! If you screw it up 'cause you wanna do what you wanna do, it will be a crutch for the rest of your life....

About 20 years ago, I crushed 3 vertebrea in my lower back in a car accident. I was in a full body cast for 7 months (including a hot, sticky summer) and 3 more months of rehabilitation in a fiberglass removable cast. It was no fun, I was bored to death, but my doctor explained to me what would happen if the injury didn't heal, and that the rest and later rehab would give it the best chance of a successful recovery.

I still have two 14" stainless steel rods in my back. I could have removed them after a year, but that would mean another "opening of my body":eek: and wasn't necessary if they didn't bother me. I'm fine, but the lower back does bother me sometimes... I don't want to even think about what it would be like living with even 10@ of the pain I had after the surgery and when the drugs wore off. :bow:

Don't let the "minor" become an excuse....all back surgeries can have a "major" effect on your life.

Take care, and you will be back to doing things normally, soon enough.
 
Hi Al, :wave:
Greg's advise sounds very valid. Do your best to make use of your down time. Try sketchup or do you know that already? You know Dave will help. Do you want to learn to draw, maybe I can help.
What would be nice for you, would be to come out of that predicament with something positive, like a grasp of a foreign language. How about audio books , novels read aloud for on disc or cassette tape. Make use of this forced incarceration for your good.
We are rooting for you.
Hang on!
Shaz
 
Al,
I feel for you. BUT do as the doc says!! As others have mentioned, lay low now and get it over with - if not, you may have to start from scratch or worse. I've been through a couple surgeries over the past two years which have had me laid up. Some here know what I'm talking about - I won't go into detail - too painful:D:D. I know a bit of your frustration.
I did a lot of reading, and watched some videos (Bill G's were two;)) I did the book learning, now I am hoping to get into the shop and do some of the things I have read about!
Oh, keep a pad of paper and pen handy - write or sketch out your plans. I have a book full of little thumbnail sketches. Some with details and dimensions, some just a kernel of an idea.

Good luck and heal fast!

Wes
 
Al, that sounds like about 2500 westerns should do the job, that is what it took for me. If you can keep your mind busy you got it made.
Bob
 
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Al, I can commiserate. I spent about 3 months horizontally...another member of the broken back club. (Didn't know Greg was also a member.) ;) This was before I got back into woodworking. Nowadays I'd probably go stir crazy too. Like others have said, obey the docs so you don't end up making things worse, and I hope you heal more quickly than expected. I'm convinced a positive attitude is the best medicine.

For my three horizontal months, I put a good air mattress on the hideaway sofa bed in the living room and watched way too much TV. I didn't have a laptop, so my computer time was limited to the few minutes at a time I could stand to sit at the desk in the other room. (Eventually that time got longer as I got better.) Daytime TV is the pits, with the exception of Let's Make a Deal reruns on the Game Show Network. It was a hoot seeing the prizes. The merchandise they gave away was cutting edge at the time in the early '70s, but it seems really quaint through today's glasses. I recall seeing a digital watch with new-fangled LED technology that was priced at $4,000. And then there was the refrigerator/freezer with the built-in 8-track tape player.

Even though it sees like it now, in the grand scheme of things, three months isn't all that long, and concentrating on getting better will make the time go by more quickly.
 
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