delsolrob
Board Sponsor
Hey guys, there are a few things in play that may impact our businesses over the next few months - it's actually may have been impacting business to some degree for some time (been doing the best I can).
Some may know, or remember I was partially paralyzed after breaking my neck snowboarding in Jan 2019. I had cervical reconstruction surgery in June of 2019 and was able to recover completely after the accident - I ended up with a mechanical replacement in my cervical spine...but, it took some time and the process wasn't exactly fun. But, I'd regained my life and was eventually able to, again, live it to its fullest.
There was an incident this last fall that exacerbated the old injury and I'd been unable to regain full use of my right side ever since. Essentially been partially paralyzed for about 8 months. It's been an up and down battle and I've been in and out of the hospital for imaging, tests, etc...and dealing with some of the other issues that have stemmed from the injury - like experiencing a heart attack like event that was caused by nerve compression at t1-t2...that was exciting.
The most concerning part about the imaging is the extent of the damage and how much it had spread, not just adjacent vertebra, but throughout my cervical and down into my thoracic spine. With severe foraminal stenosis from c3 pretty much all the way down to t2. This has left me pretty incapacitated and the nerve pain and other issues have been pretty extreme. the doctors have been really trying to identify what nerves are being impacted, rather than creating a treatment plan based off the (Ugly) imaging.
I've been working through this process with my original spinal surgeon (ortho), but as of last month, he excused himself from my care, as he didn't see a path forward within his skillset that would help me return my life back to normal. I've since been referred to a neurosurgeon who's going to oversee my care and plot the path forward.
I had my first meeting with the neurosurgeon yesterday and it seems like they may begin moving pretty quickly with surgery. This is both terrifying and exciting because I've been waiting for answers and a path forward for so many months! I go in for another MRI on Monday and then things can move pretty quickly from there. Depending on the new imaging they may move on surgery as soon as a couple weeks, or it could take a couple months, it's a matter of scheduling, and there may be more tests they want to execute before going in.
I'll be doing the best I can to prepare everything for whatever absence may be necessary. With luck, there will be little impact to the business and we can continue to offer the level of care and service I've always tried to meet...but, there may be some impact and I do ask for a little grace and patience. I've also tried to stay on top of things as much as I could throughout this process...but, it's been an extreme challenge. And I know there were some instances where I wasn't able to meet expectations ...for that, I'm sorry!
This isn't something I've really wanted to make public, but it's something I felt I needed the community to be aware of...especially if there's a long term impact.
It's been a pretty devastating time, and it's tested me in multiple ways and challenged me in my identity - from being jack reacher for halloween to not being able to open a jar or lift a gallon of milk almost overnight...it's amazing how quickly life changes, and sometimes it's more than humbling.
I'd like to thank @sns8778, Steve has been a true friend and been extremely supportive through this process
I will do the best I can to get the Ultra Three retail release done before anything changes, and hopefully it will be smooth sailing after surgery...fingers crossed! Will also do my best to make sure there's as little disruption to our product availability as possible during this time as well. But, again, I do hope for a little patience. As always, I'll truly be doing the best I can.
Some may know, or remember I was partially paralyzed after breaking my neck snowboarding in Jan 2019. I had cervical reconstruction surgery in June of 2019 and was able to recover completely after the accident - I ended up with a mechanical replacement in my cervical spine...but, it took some time and the process wasn't exactly fun. But, I'd regained my life and was eventually able to, again, live it to its fullest.
There was an incident this last fall that exacerbated the old injury and I'd been unable to regain full use of my right side ever since. Essentially been partially paralyzed for about 8 months. It's been an up and down battle and I've been in and out of the hospital for imaging, tests, etc...and dealing with some of the other issues that have stemmed from the injury - like experiencing a heart attack like event that was caused by nerve compression at t1-t2...that was exciting.
The most concerning part about the imaging is the extent of the damage and how much it had spread, not just adjacent vertebra, but throughout my cervical and down into my thoracic spine. With severe foraminal stenosis from c3 pretty much all the way down to t2. This has left me pretty incapacitated and the nerve pain and other issues have been pretty extreme. the doctors have been really trying to identify what nerves are being impacted, rather than creating a treatment plan based off the (Ugly) imaging.
I've been working through this process with my original spinal surgeon (ortho), but as of last month, he excused himself from my care, as he didn't see a path forward within his skillset that would help me return my life back to normal. I've since been referred to a neurosurgeon who's going to oversee my care and plot the path forward.
I had my first meeting with the neurosurgeon yesterday and it seems like they may begin moving pretty quickly with surgery. This is both terrifying and exciting because I've been waiting for answers and a path forward for so many months! I go in for another MRI on Monday and then things can move pretty quickly from there. Depending on the new imaging they may move on surgery as soon as a couple weeks, or it could take a couple months, it's a matter of scheduling, and there may be more tests they want to execute before going in.
I'll be doing the best I can to prepare everything for whatever absence may be necessary. With luck, there will be little impact to the business and we can continue to offer the level of care and service I've always tried to meet...but, there may be some impact and I do ask for a little grace and patience. I've also tried to stay on top of things as much as I could throughout this process...but, it's been an extreme challenge. And I know there were some instances where I wasn't able to meet expectations ...for that, I'm sorry!
This isn't something I've really wanted to make public, but it's something I felt I needed the community to be aware of...especially if there's a long term impact.
It's been a pretty devastating time, and it's tested me in multiple ways and challenged me in my identity - from being jack reacher for halloween to not being able to open a jar or lift a gallon of milk almost overnight...it's amazing how quickly life changes, and sometimes it's more than humbling.
I'd like to thank @sns8778, Steve has been a true friend and been extremely supportive through this process
I will do the best I can to get the Ultra Three retail release done before anything changes, and hopefully it will be smooth sailing after surgery...fingers crossed! Will also do my best to make sure there's as little disruption to our product availability as possible during this time as well. But, again, I do hope for a little patience. As always, I'll truly be doing the best I can.
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