Sorry its been so long ....

Lots has happened since I was last here. Some good, some average and some looking not so good.

The NRL rugby league grand final has been and gone. Well done to the Melbourne Storm for winning. Poor Parramatta Eels supporters look like its going to be quite some time before they get to see the trophy sitting in their trophy cabinet. Unfortunately for me, my team the Brisbane Broncos couldn't get past the grand final cup qualifier going down to the Storm. One more win and it would have been us instead of the Storm. Oh well, thems are the breaks. Speaking of breaks - if our playmaker halfback Peter Wallace didnt break his ankle and leg in our 2nd last game we were looking the goods to win this year. With our main playmaker and licker out a loss wasnt a shock. As they say - there is always next year - Go Broncos!!!!

A big weekend ahead here for motorsport with the V8s roaring around Mount Panarama at Bathurst. 1000 kilometres of racing, going flat out all day. Wow! Wish I could sit in the passenger seat. Well I know what channel the TV willl be firmly fixed to for most of Sunday. Will be the last year we hear of Ford fans cheering for the 888 team with them moving over to Holden from 2010 on. Go Holden!!!

My back has still not settled down since my surgery in Sept last year. That's 13 months now since the spinal surgery I thought would put me right again. Some of the stuff I have been reading lately doesn't look good for the future judging by my symptoms mirroring others that have had failed back surgery. I will try write some more on this separately so anyone following my progress and thinking about whether to have a similar operation or not can read it clearly.

I was really hoping my back injury would have settled down enough by now since my surgery so I could go back doing some of the things I love like 4 wheel driving and caravanning too. Looks like they will have to wait. This whole back pain thing has me thinking I maybe giving up these 2 favourite hobbies of mine.

Here are a couple interesting web sites I have been reading. One is from here in Australia, the other from USA.

Exploroz: http://www.exploroz.com/Forum/Default.aspx thats a link to the forum which is really interesting, just like the rest of the site its full of helpful information.

RV NOW with Jim Twamley: http://rvnow.rvtravel.com/ - some pretty interesting reading there too. I loved looking for the similarities and differences in our caravanning (or RVing) habits.

And 1 more for you if you have back pain or a spine problem, take a look at the BadBacks site: http://forum.badbacks.com.au/ - post your question in the forum for some friendly advice or just search for some responses that match your symptoms or back pain problems for information to help you out.

Till next time ....

Choosing my Spinal Surgeon for my Bad Back Problems

After spending countless hours on Google and the internet searching for answers to end my back pain and the associated problems from it I came across a web site by the name of "BadBacks". Try searching their forum here: http://forum.badbacks.com.au/ On there I continually found references to a spinal surgeon that operated out of the Gold Coast in Queensland that had marvellous results, and also carried out the surgery that had previously been recommended to me by my local ortho and neurosurgeons. He done a procedure he called a "Hybrid Procedure". This was one operation in which he did both a fusion and also an artificial disc replacement at the same time. Back here in NSW the surgeons were saying that I would need 2 separate surgeries. A fusion from the back or posterior side, and also an artificial disc replacement from the front or anterior side. This brought further problems in that I could only have one surgery at a time and needed to wait until I fully recovered before undergoing the other one. 2 lots of surgery, double the costs, double the risks, and double the time to recover was not for me. This Hybrid surgery looked like it was what was needed for me. An ALIF (Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion) and an ADR (Artificial DIsc Replacement) all done at once.

So after plenty of research on BadBacks and emails to members on there, (Thanks Joseph for all your advice and help. Joseph was only 22 years of age from Victoria and he was planning a Hybrid procedure with Matthew for exactly the same condition as me), I now had to research this type of surgery, the different types of artificial disc and the surgeon. Back to Google I went. Everything I found confirmed to me that this spine surgeon who operated from the Gold Coast in Queensland, a Dr Matthew Scott-Young, was the best Back Surgeon in Australia, and was the best back surgeon for me. He was part of the team that developed the Charite artificial disc, and had implanted over two thousand of them. He was very well respected and had excellent results. All surgeries have risks and not all go to plan. But I was very happy with my research and this was the man I needed to get my life back again.

But now I had another challenge. The best 'back doctor' for me operated in another state in Australia. Lucky for me my mother had moved to the Gold Coast and after telling her all about it she offered to act as nurse and for me to stay with her before and after any surgery that may eventuate, as well as run me around to appointments with doctors, physiotherapists, and for MRIs, xrays etc.

The next problem was the delay in getting to see him. I was suffering from both terrible pain and depression from the situation I was now in. (Depression is something I have never discussed with anyone, but I highly recommend finding someone to talk to about it. Do not handle it like me). I had decided that I needed to end this suffering somehow soon, and decided that I would undergo spinal surgery as soon as possible. Anyone suffering the pain I was in would understand that you get to a point that it all starts to be too much and you just want it all to stop. Or as I often said, "I just wanted my life back again".

Looking back I can honestly say I would have never ever thought that I would ever in my life be discussing or thinking about spinal surgery and everything that goes with it. It was a subject very far from my mind in my life. It just goes to show that life throws up some real challenges.

So an early appointment was necessary in my view and because Matthew had such a good reputation as a spinal surgeon I just couldn't wait for him to actually agree to get me on the table. His staff sent me plenty of paperwork I needed to complete, and asked that I send them all my scans, xrays and MRI's etc. Matthew had a procedure for looking after his interstate patients too. He reviewed the documents he received from his prospective patients, and from these he arranged an appointment based on the patients medical needs.

Luckily for me I received a telephone call within a couple of weeks to arrange an appointment for a discogram and an appointment the next day in his rooms to discuss the findings of both the discogram and his medical opinion from my documents I had given him. Unfortunately this discogram would be in about 5 weeks from their telephone call so I needed to be patient and wait. Lucky for me it wasn't any earlier as I needed to make arrangements for many things in the mean time to get me ready for the discogram and the early surgery that was about to eventuate in circumstances that I had not dreamed of.

By the way, a discogram is not something you should really research if you have plenty of time up your sleeve before having one. They are not a pleasant procedure to undergo and I have never met or heard of anyone who actually enjoyed the experience. But it is a necessary experience and one I would highly recommend you ask for if your own doctor doesn't (which I think would be highly unlikely if they know what they are doing)

Anyway, more about my discogram, my appointment with Dr Scott-Young, and my pending ADR and ALIF hybrid surgery, and my new Charite artificial disc will follow.

What a week

What a great week. It started with Holden winning in Darwin and the highlight for me is Queensland winning their 4th consecutive State of Origin series on Wednesday night in Sydney. How good was that! Now all we need is for the Maroons to whitewash the Blues and win this years series 3 nil when they next play up in Queensland in 3 weeks time. What a pity you got to wait a whole year for Origin footy to come around.

Then I decided to add some plants - real live plants that is - to my tropical aquarium on Thursday. So what you say. Well the problem is I have 2 Silver Dollars swimming around in there and they love to nibble on live plants. Anyway so far it has been worth it. They are nibbling on two of them but so far have left one of them alone. Just maybe I will get away with removing the artificial plants and stocking up on some more live plants. Live plants really bring an aquarium to life - and the fish love swimming amongst them, hiding in them, and eating them too. With the Silver Dollars you just got to be tolerant of them eating the plants and restocking as needed. One day I will have to place some photos of it on here.

Also this week saw my son heading off on his 3 day school camp to Canberra. Something he has been looking forward to. He got to go to the snow as well as plenty of other attractions to visit. Unfortunately he came back home sick after picking up the flu from a room mate. He was so sick he had to miss his soccer game on Saturday. Just for the record they won again, 1 Nil. They are undefeated with 7 wins and 1 draw so far. Keep going boys, you are all playing really well.

And I also made some invitations for my daughter's birthday party coming up in July. The invitations have turned out brilliant if I do say so myself. They look real professional - maybe I have found my calling. Anyone looking for someone to design and make your party, wedding etc invitations? You just never know hey?

And we had the damage to my wife's car fixed and the car detailed. It really brought the paintwork back to where it should be. Some clown had run into the back of it causing damage to the rear bumper. I found a guy (Craig from Duco Drs) that came out to your home to fix it. He fixed the scratches and creases and resprayed it so it's just like new again. All done in a few hours at home rather than losing the car in the panel shop for several days. It worked out real well. And the wife is happy again now that her pride and joy is back to its' best.

And then we had a lovely night out with the parents of my sons soccer team. The food was great, the company great, but our luck on the pokies not so great. Oh well maybe next time.

Well that was most of the week for me. A week where we lost both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Anyway, as my kids say: "Later..."

Holden finishes on top in the V8 Supercars - how sweet!

What a great way to end your weekend, watching Holden come out on top by finishing first in this round of the V8 Supercars held at Darwin in the Skycity Triple Crown at Hidden Valley.

I love few things better than sitting back and watching all the action of the V8s racing. I love it even more when Holden come out on top. It was an exciting finish with the Ford of Alex Davison storming home to finish second to Michael Caruso who won in this his first ever V8 Supercar victory. It is a great result for the team at Garry Rogers Motorsport with Michael Caruso's team mate Lee Holdsworth coming home in 5th position.

It was a great result for Holden with 6 of the top 10 places belonging to teams racing Commodores. The order in which they finished were:

Michael Caruso Commodore
Alex Davison Falcon
Craig Lowndes Falcon
Rick Kelly Commodore
Garth Tander Commodore
Paul Dumbrell Commodore
Lee Holdsworth Commodore
Russell Ingall Commodore
Shane van Gisbergen Falcon
Jamie Whincup Falcon

Another great result for the Holden V8 Supercars - I can't wait for the next round to begin.

Now we just need the Queensland Maroons to come through on Wednesday night by beating NSW Blues and taking a fourth consecutive series victory in State of Origin. Now that would be real sweet. What a pity my son won't be here to watch it with me - he has a school camp to go to. Hopefully he can find a TV somewhere so he can catch some of the action. He will be cheering for his Blues, but I have a feeling the Maroons can do it - sorry mate. Go Queensland!!

Now we know why Jarryd Hayne couldn't see the sideline in Origin 1

Everyone was wondering why he didn't see the sideline in the first State of Origin game played in Melbourne. But when you check out this image taken from the game you soon see why - Jarryd Hayne plays the game with his eyes shut. Maybe he is scared or something. Maybe that also explains why Jarryd plays better at fullback. With his eyes closed he doesn't have to worry about where the sidelines are.

NRL TIPPING COMPETITIONS - The 'Experts' Tips

Can someone please explain?

How are these so called 'expert' tippers sitting where they are in their tipping competition?

If you look at the NRL Tipping competition for example, you have tippers like Brad Fittler and Kurt Gidley on their offering up their expert tips for the average punters to follow. But how is Fittler been consistently sitting up near the top in the results each week and someone like Gidley is down nearer to the bottom?

You got to expect that they would at least tip their own team each week. If that is the case, Fittler's mob the Roosters have only won 3 games this year. So how is he sitting in 5th place? (If you consider the 3 ahead of him are all on the same amount of points some may say he is coming 3rd) Maybe that's why the Roosters are struggling to find form - maybe he's tipping against them. Not likely, so does that make him an expert tipper to follow if you just forget his Roosters tip each week and pick the same as the rest of his tips. Just imagine how well he would be doing if the Roosters found some form.

Then look at Kurt Gidley who is in 15th position. What's doing there? Maybe 'Gids' has forgotten to tip the Knights each week when he sends his selections in. Tip the Knights 'Gids' - your team has been up near the top of the NRL ladder most of the year.

Ah well, it makes me feel better now that I know that the experts struggle each week picking the winners. The pressure is off - watch me go! (For the record I tipped 7 from 8 last round, only missing the perfect round when my team struggled into second against the team they were up against) There is always next week.

State of Origin. Bring on Game 2

So who will win the State of Origin series this year? Can Queensland win 4 series in a row? Will they win the series 3 nil or can the Blues upset the Maroons plans?

Most are tipping an easy win to Meninga's Queenslanders this year but i think it will be much closer than expected. I think playing the first game in Melbourne has actually helped this NSW side get over their nerves on a neutral ground and will be ready to hit the ground running in game 2.

NSW always seem to panic and change selections after each game. Why not stick with the players they originally picked? Obviously Bellamy and Co didn't have as much faith in them as they thought. I bet NSW wishes they picked a team on form last year and stuck with them. If they did they would not need to panic now. Too bad all they were worried about last year was losing 3 series in a row or maybe they would have shown faith in their selections. So it's the same old thing again for the Blues this year - all they are worried about is losing 4 series in a row. Show some faith in your players Blues selectors and they will show you the passion your team is lacking! When does the team building start? Will it be after you lose this years series? Can pulling trent Barrett out of oblivion save your backsides? I doubt it. If you picked on form you would pick Kimmorley from the Bulldogs and Soward from the Dragons.

Queensland can definately win this years series and make it a historic 4 series in a row, but they will have to be on their game for a whole 90 minutes. Who am I kidding? The Maroons always play for a full 90 minutes. Just ask Coyne. They just don't have a great backline - they have a great team. C'mon the Cane Toads! I can't wait for the game to start. QUEENSLANDER!

My back injury and the surgery that changed our lives

Well my life seemed to be fairly stable. I was in a job I was good at and enjoyed. I was happily married with 3 children in a home we built ourselves. I was on top of the world so I thought. But then it all began to change in early 2006. That was when I seriously hurt my back whilst at work. From there I battled my employer of over 10 years as I fought to keep my job, and their insurer as I tried to get the treatment and surgery I needed, and this dreaded workers compensation system that we have here in New South Wales.

It is such an unfair system that is geared around the insurer and the employer. The average person thinks it is there to provide security for the time when something goes wrong on the job. When you hurt yourself needing care and rehabilitation to get you back to where you were before the injury. If you think that is what it's for I am afraid you are sadly mistaken and I truely hope you never need to use it. And if you are one of the poor buggers paying out your high workers compensation premiums thinking at least it is there if I ever need it, well I am sorry the news is all bad.

Since I hurt my back I have had my claim approved, denied and then after a long and lengthy battle finally approved again at the last hour in the Workers Compensation Commission. I have lost my job that I had for over 10 years because of my injury. They told me to "go away and fix your back and then come back here and we will give you your job back". Well sorry but I thought that is what workers compensation was for. To look after me and fix me up when you are hurt on the job. To give me the necessary spinal surgery, to rehabilitate me and get me back on the job. I was wrong. I was told "it is a game and you better start to learn how to play if you want to get anywhere"

So amongst all the pain and agony and the depression when it all seems just too hard, you have your family there too. They are the innocent ones who did nothing wrong in all this but who also go along for the ride to hell and hopefully back and suffer along with you. They also now have worries: like how we are all going to survive, where will we get the money from to live, how to pay the bills, how will we ever afford the enormous cost of the spinal surgery that Dad needs, and ask are we now going to lose our house and everything too?

And while you battle the old employer and battle their insurer, you now are forced to deal with all the legalities, the solicitors and lawyers too just so you can get your 'compo' claim reinstated to cover the big pile of bills you had to somehow deal with. And all this takes its toll as your body tries its best to firstly recover from the shock of the injury and then the spinal surgery. The surgery that required two discs being removed from my spinal column in my lower back to be replaced with one artificial disc and another replaced with a little cage filled with bone fragments and something called BMP2 and all held together with titanium screws and a titanium plate.

And while all that is happening you all try to survive after losing your main source of income. Over the next 8 months the only money coming in is from the part time wages of my wife. She takes on extra hours. You cut corners to try keep things as normal as you can for the kids. You start having to somehow pay people to do the jobs around the home you used to do. And on top of all this you feel guilty for putting your family through a living hell. Your life gets turned upside down, but you somehow feel lucky because it could have been worse. Some poor people end up in wheelchairs or die on the job.

So now its about 8 to 9 months since my surgery and I am trying to let my body do its bit as I go through the recovery phase. I am trying to protect my fused spine as the fusion does its bit and the bone grows. I do not want to cause a problem after going through the spinal surgery or do something that stops me from fusing properly.

For anyone who has had a back injury, they look for the miracle cure. The thing that will fix their problem and get their life back. But it isn't that easy. Your GP probably doesn't give you the answers you need and you start searching for them yourself. This bad back you now have needs fixing and you may be looking at spinal surgery which all seems way too scary.

So what is a Hybrid Surgery? What is an artificial disc replacement, and which one should you get? What is fusion all about? That part of my story is to come. It isn't an easy road to take but it is now a necessary one for me and my family.....

Well this is progress. My first blog. Here we go ....

Take it easy on me this is my first go so anything could happen here.

You will soon learn enough about me. How I like 4 wheel driving, going away in my caravan, my fish in my aquariums and my ponds, our dog, my love of footy - rugby league that is, actually I like soccer too, love the V8 Supercars - Holdens only none of that Ford rot - yuk that's a rude 4 letter word starting with 'F', yeah, there's lots to talk about.

Things like my back pain and the spine surgery I needed, the stupid NSW workers compensation system that doesn't give workers and their families a fair go, but I will come to that soon enough.

Anyway, I just wanted to start things off easy before I go crazy writing. So there, that wasn't too hard - see ya later