Some of you noticed and commented on my recent absence. No, I didn't fall off the planet and rumors of my demise are slightly exaggerated.

​​​​​​At 5am June 21 my wife and I showed up at the hospital where I was supposed to have "minimally invasive" spine surgery. Because of a complication and my unusual physiology (thick layer of back muscle from archery, I think) the original plan was tossed and the surgeries that followed mine were delayed as the doctor was pushed to the limits of his skills and the limits of the largest reactors in order to correct my bad back.

I'm very thrilled to say that as soon as I woke up I knew it was a success and, for the first time in 14 months I was pain free! Except for the tissue trauma, that is.

Ten days later my XKR is still waiting for me. I can walk without problem, sir, stand and right now it had been 24 hours since I've taken any painkillers. But getting in and out of the low XKR will have to wait just a little longer.

I've been out in our SUV and even drive it to the store today. I'm hoping I feel up to taking the XKR out by the end of the week.

I see the surgeon again in 5 days to get clearance to return to work. I'm also going to get instructions on how to push my recovery which I'll give to my personal trainer.

April 2016 when my back went bad for the most recent time (not the first time) I had just hired my trainer to help me build strength for archery and endurance to run a 10k before my 60th birthday. Well that didn't happen. He did all he could to maintain my upper body strength over the past year but I had to give up archery and running and my 60th came and went 2 months ago.

But I'm going to incorporate archery into my rehab and I'll do that 10k before my 61st next April; maybe even this Fall!

Oh, and I'll be driving the XKR all over the place with a big grin (and no pain!) soon. Very soon!

 

Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

I had a hip replaced four weeks ago and the doctor said four weeks until I could drive. That's tomorrow! Yippeee!

I climbed in and out of the XKR today with minimal pain. Hopefully, in another couple of weeks there won't be any pain at all.

In the meantime, the joy I experience from driving my Jags will surely compensate for some minor discomfort.




Stu

 

Congrats on the surgical outcome! As someone who took 4 knee surgeries from age 5 to 16 to correct a car accident, that feeling of knowing immediately that they got it this time is one of the best you can ever have . Just turned 30 and my boyfriend and I went hiking recently for a whole day. It's like it never was bad!

I don't know what seats your XKR has, but if you have standard non-Recaros, might you try this. Sit on the door sill, then swing legs in while pivoting and drop butt in, keeping back pretty straight. I threw my back out doing transmission work on a friends car and this helped decently since I daily my XKR most of the year.

Also congrats on killing it at 61. Archery and runs!

 

Great to hear that you are doing so well! Welcome back.

 

Here's to a speedy recovery....

I played football (that's American football, NOT soccer) from age 6 until age 42. Many, many surgeries (knees, Achilles tendons, shoulder, elbow, hand, etc.) were required to put me back together and keep me in the game over the decades. I love the sport, lived for it, and am now suffering the consequences. Now 63 with 64 approaching very quickly, a quick word of advice to you: forget about running. Far too much intense pounding on the surgically-repaired areas. Take up trail hiking instead. I have not run since 2002, but I can out-hike many of the whippersnappers in their 20s and 30s. Early weekday morning 6-mile hikes in about 72 minutes at a local state park are my norm, but I can do 12 to 15 miles in one stretch if I want to (but I only want to in autumn and winter, not in this 90-degree summer heat)....

Hike, don't run. Your body will last much longer and your pain will be mitigated compared to running....

 

Trust your instincts .............. my brain says I can still ski down a steep mountain. My body says it would rather I enjoyed a glass of decent wine while watching younger men doing that immediately prior to an unscheduled visit to the fracture clinic !!

 

Best of luck for a quick recovery and thanks for your inspiring story. At 67, I understand and try to ignore my limitations. Sometimes I can, sometimes the body won't.

 

Thanks for all the kind words and well wishes. I'm now at day 13 and very thrilled to report no pain and it has been days since I've taken a painkiller!

Yesterday my wife had a workout with our personal trainer. I went to the gym and did 15 minutes on the treadmill and then 20 on a stationary bike. OK, that isn't much but it is the most exercise I've had since before the surgery.

Also, I was able to get into and out of Kat (my XKR, get your mind out of the gutter!) without any pain or discomfort. I think I'll drive it to the local Jaguar club meeting tomorrow.

I've also ordered some special arrows (long 34" for traditional barebow archery) so I can get back to training after a 14 month absence from the sport. Barebow is the best training; my 40" target compound - a Win&Win Black Dragonfly 40, very rare in North America - can wait until I strengthen my core.

 

When I decided to start running at 50 after almost 40 years of sitting on my butt I decided to look at the physiology of the activity. I was and am very aware of the risk to joints in particular knees and hips. I decided to train myself for a toe-strike (aka barefoot) style where I land on the ball of my foot and let the arch of my foot act like the leaf springs on the back-end of my pickup.

It worked. My knees are actually better than they were before I started running! Back then the muscles around the joint were weak and some early arthritis was in evidence. Today my knees are solid, strong and without pain. Ditto for my hips.

With a toe-strike my stride is shorter than most runners and I'm far from the fastest runner. That's OK. I'm not competitive; I just run for fun. I know a lot of people will think I'm crazy. I don't run with earbuds blocking out the sounds. I love the sound of the wind, my feet hitting the ground, the sound of my breathing. I get into a Zen-like state and just enjoy the run.

I should note that from both my mother's and father's side of the family there has been the need for multiple hip and knee replacements. I am working hard and smart to avoid that.

 

During my recovery I've been balancing what my surgeon has said against what my body, not my heart, tells me I can do. So I have been pushing the boundaries a bit.

When I saw the surgeon last week to look at a minor problem at the incision site I discussed this with him. He told me that what I am doing is perfect and keep it up. The generic directions err on the cautious side and are largely written for people in much worse health and less fit than I am.

Going forward I'm will continue to push hard while listening to my body.