I haven’t been posting at all because I just haven’t felt like it. After a promising apparent recovery, I’ve starting showing symptoms again starting at the beginning of summer. At first, I just dismissed it as complications from the rib pain, but I continued to get worse.
Taken in downtown Reno at the Circus Circus hotel casino. I really like this one.
So after the surgery in October, I’ve had a muscle spasm in my left side. This has seriously hampered my recovery and even contributed to my need to change employers. The bad news is, it’s hurt like hell. The good news is, I’m better.
For years, my wife has been telling me that I stop breathing when I sleep. I know that I snore like a chainsaw (since I woke my self up a couple of times) but I didn’t realize that I stopped breathing. After the second round of back surgery, I decided to do something about it. So I went to my family doctor, and he sent me to a sleep center.
After all the fun I had with work stuff this year, I wanted to do a quick post linking back to a couple of my favorite work posts. I will admit that almost all of them involved getting to travel somewhere new, but that may or may not just be a coincidence. I definitely got to see a whole lot of SoCal driving around in the Audi. Damn I liked that car.
In no particular order:
Test Drive: Audi’s R8 V10 Spyder
Hands on with the Sarcos XOS 2 – The Robot Suit
Review: Nikon Coolpix P7000 (added this one just because it’s a great camera – if you’ve got $500 and you need stealth DSLR quality, this is the one to buy)
One other thing. I’m looking for some opinions on a rather touchy subject. As you may or may not have noticed, I generally speaking don’t write negative reviews about products. I’ve put much thought into the fact that there are real people behind these products, and in some cases (particularly with small companies) a negative or even neutral review can be seriously damaging. Am I being too soft? In the few cases where I have seen products that I would have posted a negative review about, I actually sent them back rather then write them up.
I’m rather glad to see the end of 2010. On one hand, I’ve had some really fun times in Vegas at CES, in Albuquerque with Nikon, in San Diego with Audi (oh my did I have fun in San Diego), and in Salt Lake City seeing a robot suit. Looking back, it’s a crazy job and life I lead. On the other hand, I’ve been in the hospital twice for surgery, and my back is now covered with scars. The good news is I can walk without a cane, and while the pain in lessened, I’m still healing.
Taking the good with the bad, I’ve also learned how to take better pictures, made new friends, and started new projects. I’ve got no more surgeries scheduled, and the doctor has told me that I won’t need any more work done for the foreseeable future. My vertebrae is no longer crushing my spinal cord, and the numbness is slowing leaving the left side of my body.
At any rate, 2010 is over.. On to 2011!
So the second surgery is done. This one was significantly more invasive, and I’m still recovering. Turns out that they actually had to remove one of my ribs in order to get to the vertebrae that they needed to work on.
I’ve been pushing myself a bit though, and making sure that I get outside for fresh air and exercise. Been taking some pictures, and just enjoying the weather (we’ve had some snow already). I’ve been shooting quite a bit with the excellent Nikon P7000, a compact camera that likes to think that it’s a DSLR (particularly when it comes to internal options and picture quality). The P7000 also shoots HD video, something that I’ve honestly missed having in the D300. At any rate, December will go down in my memory as being very painful, due to the nerves being obnoxious after the rib being removed.
Here’s to the end of 2010, and let’s hope 2011 is a much better year with less pain.
Sorry for the lack of updates, I’ve been busy this summer. Between work, photography, and getting the boy into school I’ve been really busy.
It’s been interesting lately. With my next surgery coming up in a few weeks, I’ve felt an urge to do as much as I can before I go in. That has meant going shooting pretty much every weekend, doing things I wouldn’t have been capable of doing 6 months ago. For example, last weekend I hiked down a really steep trail on the shore of Lake Tahoe just to take some pictures. I was properly prepared of course, I had my hiking staff, and my camera in a backpack and such – but I remember when I couldn’t walk around the grocery store without being in incredible pain.
Amongst the typical boring day to day, I’ve also been to San Diego to test drive an Audi R8 V10 Spyder, been to the Black Rock Desert looking for a geyser, camped in Yosemite, and even walked around Walmart without a cane or needing to use the electric cart. It’s been a full summer for me, but I’m really glad it’s starting to cool down, and you can definitely feel that winter is coming. There’s been a chill in the wind at times, a hint that the weather will be changing soon even though the leaves don’t have any color.
I do have a couple more things coming up, I’m going back up to Tahoe this weekend to shoot more startrails (even though the moon will be out – bah!), and then I’m flying to Albuquerque the first week of October to shoot a balloon/air show. How cool is that eh? The best part is it’s for work, so that helps as well. I’m kind of bummed, I’d hoped to do a “Eastern Sierra Photo Tour” seminar this year, but it happens too close to when my surgery is, and honestly I can’t afford it right now anyway. Perhaps next year. They get special permission to go to a ghost town in the sierras and shoot at night. It’s very rare to get that permission, and typically you have to be in a large group to get the permit.
I’ve got an idea for a project, now it’s just a question of execution. Black and white, random rock outcroppings in the middle of the desert. Problem of course, is getting out into the proper area. I have to be cautious about driving on rough roads, particularly with the thorasic spine issues.
So the concept is good, but the real question is can I safely get out into the desert and take the pictures.
Well, I’m feeling better. Still have some numbness in my left leg/foot, and some nerves that are numb in my right leg. My doctor assures me that I am responding well to the operation and should be better within a few weeks. Everything is looking good for our vacation in Yosemite at the end of the month. I’m not back to work 100% yet, but I should be back in the groove so to speak starting next week.
