Well, the back trouble that has been hassling me off and on for a couple of years finally went from bad to worse at the end of August and has remained that way for the past few months.

My MRI showed a ruptured disc in my lower back, so I'm going in Monday to have it repaired during what is usually the "slowest" time of the year for me (now it can rain every day :p ).

I'm not going to work for about six weeks, so daily pix will be very limited, but I'll keep the reports going and am hoping to have the time to work on more expansion of the site as I recoup.

For those of you that are still on the water during what is shaping up to be one of the best brat seasons in some time, if you want to email or snail mail some of your pix my way, I'll be happy to put them up on our reports page.

No need to give a river name ... perhaps just a little info about the pic, angler, and perhaps a region of the state.

Thanks everyone!

Did you hear that everybody?

Bob is taking some time off from...........FISHING!

Man, if I could take time off to GO FISHING, I'd be in a better mood!

Well, Bob, it looks like you picked a good time to go in for service......they have rain forecasted for about the next 4 months.

So what do you do for rehab? "Dry" rowing on the front lawn?

Good luck, and a speedy recovery.

Sorry to hear about your ruptured spinal disk Bob. I've had a couple friends go thru the repair and they have done very well with it. A real relief! The incisions are so much smaller and less intrusive now. The rehab does take some time and dilegence, but getting thru the pain of that will put you where you want to get. Best of luck for you Bob.

Steve

Bob, what ever it's worth. I have 2 ruptured disc
between L-3and L-4 also L-4and L-5. It happened 15 yrs ago. At the time I was ready to go under the scalpel and remove the disc. Doc said to wait and see if the nerves would re-align and that's what I did. Haven't had trouble since. Being a contractor I met Dr. Gottleib who is a renowned surgeon in Yakima. He let me know that 80% of back surgery is not necessary. What it's worth.
I hope you have a 2nd opinion. Jim Marquis

Sorry to hear about your back but you are young and strong so you will be on the go soon. But now on the bright side there will be more fish for us to get into . Take care Bob.

Bob you are making the right decision to get your back taken care of now then to wait any longer. I let mine go for about 7 months and caused nothing but more pain. I am 21 and have had a bad back since I was 18 because I tried to wait it out. But trust me after the surgery you will feel a lot better, after a few weeks. Dr. Raisis from Seattle did mine and is an excellent doctor, even though my back still is kinda bum. But my back was a lil too torn up to completely heal everything.... damn nerves

Bummer Bob. I hope you have a speedy recovery. I will keep the rivers warm for ya( if it ever stops raining) til you get back in to the swing of things. Then the master will return.

Hey there Big B., Mikey Z told me you were goin' in for surgery yesterday. I'm with DuckInTheFog and hope you got a second opinion. I had 6 ruptured discs in my back from a construction accident (L1,L2,L3,T1,T2,T3) and was layed up in bed for 3 months. Got many opinions before opting NOT to go under the knife.
Back can get a little sore at times, OK a-lot, and may lay me up for a day or two, but I have met too many guys that just aren't the same after surgery.
9 out of 10 MD's prefer drift boat rowing for a strong back. hehehe
Rowing and keeping the stomach and back muscles in shape made a world of diference for me.
Cant remember his name but there was a pretty good Chiropractor I used to see over in Kirkland. Guy was the Chiropractor for the US Olympic Boxing Team. The exercise program and physical therapy he put me on worked great.
Here's wishing you a speedy recovery no matter what route you take!!

Hey Bob Who is doing the cutting?

I had the L4-L5 problem, no room for nerve bundle right throught the center. I had a laminectomy, which I call a lemonectomy. It made my back worse and no one I've met that had one got any releif. It forced me to go for an L4-L5-S1 fusion which is titanium rods and a bone graft on each side. It took almost two years to completely heal, but I'm 95% now. I say go for it. The people who heal without surgery are very fortunate and very few. This went on for six years. Good Luck Bob! Don't plan on pulling any anchor lines for a few months. Which brings up a point. I've seen an electric anchor motor advertised in STS. Anyone tried one yet?

You know we are all wishing you a speedy recovery.

I think we'll have to send out some Baskin Robbins your way sometime soon.

Bob
where you gonna have the surgery done....Swedish?
Meatballs and pickled herring will speed your recovery.

Gooose

Holy cow ... my email box has been swamped tonight in response to this.

First of all, I want to say thanks for all the notes of concern and advice that I've received today ... I appreciate it.

I'll try to answer everybody's questions here

Been going to Physical Therapy for a while, and although it seemed to help with the everyday pain, I was still having lots of problems with the nerves, in fact, no improvement at all. Since August, when thing got really bad, my legs would often just forget they were there, an I'll fall to the ground in a heap ... sometimes 4-5 times a day.

The MRI showed the nerve canal was only about half the diameter it should be with the herniation compressing it. I haven't been able to feel my right thigh in over two years. The heriation is between L5-S1.

Actually Gooose, I am going to Swedish But I like Sparkey's idea of a Mud Pie over pickled herring any day of the week

Did a lot of research on this one before deciding to have it done. Fortunately, in this biz, you have lots of contacts and get to talk to lots of people when you need to.

Dr. Leyung from the Seattle Spine Group will be the surgeon. From those who check out the site's pix, one of my customers that you see on a regular basis, Chef Pete, had the same procedure done by Dr. Leung about 18 months ago and has seen very good improvement. He had several of his customers recommend the doc to him as well, so he seems to have a prtty good track record.

The PT will continue after the procedure and that's going to critical in the long term, but I remain pretty optimistic. I'm going to take 6 weeks off, work for a couple of week, then take another two weeks off after that when Fishgal and I go the Olympics.

As much as I hate them, I've already bought the sailboat riggings to put in a high-quality side anchor mount in the boat to keep me from having to twist and grab the anchor, and a new seat for both boats is being pursued as well.

Keeping my fingers crossed ... thanks again!

Okay..who's gonna volunteer to sneak Bob that Mud Pie past those large bosomed blonde athletic swedish nurse's when he's in the recovery room. Otherwise he's gonna have to suffer thru being hand fed meatballs and pickled herring by the same large bosomed blonde athletic swedish nurse's. Can we just call B&R for delivery and how about some of those Crispy Creme donuts? Do they deliver?

Gooose

Hey Bob, Those big city Doc's will fix you up in no time. I spent 4 months at Virginia Mason Hospital a few years ago and am OK now, except for my mind, it's kinda lost most of the time.

Get well buddy, I'm gonna miss all the Steelhead pictures you post. Let me know when you're ready to try a float and I'll throw ya in and getcha a bigun in my area...Looks like the rivers will be in in a few months after this rain we just had. You'll be ready to go by then. fp
PS:Fishgal, man the oars, we're benching Bob and putting you in...

Bob, when I say that I can feel your pain, I really mean it! I have an L5/S1 disc problem, also. My back episodes are intermittent; most days I only experience numbness in my left foot. It sounds as if your condition is chronic, and is not responding to the stretching and exercising that benefits most people with "bad backs". You've made the right choice in picking surgery over suffering. It might be a good idea to have your surgeon fillet a fish in your presence, before you let him cut on your spine. Just a suggestion Best wishes for a quick recovery.

BTW Bob, whatever you do, DON'T buy anything from Victoria's Secret for Fishgal, look at R-rated movies, or look at any of those kind of magazines for at least 3 weeks after your back surgery! Take it from some guys that learned that the hard way.

Well, gooose, if there's a large bosomed blonde athletic swedish nurse in Bob's room, I don't think I'd want to get past her. Guess Bob is on his own! Now, if I could take that mud pie and smear it all over her......uh.....never mind

John

Bob, Rt is 100% right about doing the bunny hop in bed. This is no joke, it will set you back if you cheat. I know too. Best wishes on your recovery. Duck

Hope everything heals well. With current methods all should turn out.

Bob I know your pain too well!!I went through the same thing and had surgery on my back in 1987 by the seahawks doctor Pierce Scranton he did a great job!!I can pull on the sticks all day long!!But i still have pain once in a while.But Rt is right on the money about the other activities!!Im sure Fishgal will have the 12 gauge loaded a sitting by the door to keep those Swedish candy stripers and nurses out of the room!!But those sponge baths were sure nice.

Take it one day at a time Babes......
This Swedish doctor better know what he's doing.....

More advise...just what you need! I had the L4-5 thing going on 10 years ago with frequest left leg numbing and constant pain. The nerve pain and numbness went away immediately after surgery. If you wait numbness out too long you'll suffer muscle damage/atrophy that is sometimes difficult to recover from. You're doing the right thing!