The Diagnosis

Previously, if you'll remember, I had a spinal X-Ray done and it was determined that I had Spinal Osteoarthritis, a degenerative disease of the spine and not curable.

A week ago last Friday I had an MRI done to determine what was wrong with my left side from the hip down. To see if there was anything else like I need a hip replacement or something. 

Yesterday I got the results from my doctor. Actually I saw them online last Wednesday, but wanted his professional opinion.

The MRI showed the same spinal degenerative disease as the X-Ray, so what's the problem with my walking? Seems when I walk on uneven surfaces (side of the creek, side of the lake, or even cutting the grass) or kneeling down to pull weeds and such, the uneven movement pinches the sciatic nerve in my left hip causing me to need a cane to walk for 3 or 4 days. Did I mention that it's quite painful too.

That said, fishing creeks and rocky lake shores is no longer an option. The pain is just not worth it. Can I float tube? That remains to be seen, only problem is that with the fires, our camping and access to lakes has been put on hold. We have one more trip planned to Upper Lake (a good float tube lake) the last week of the month. I looked at the fire map this morning and where we stay is squeezed in between the Ranch and the River fire (known as the Mendocino Complex Fire) and I'm hoping it will BE THERE that week. The outlook isn't good.

So for now, fishing is on hold.

Stay tuned.

Maybe I should turn this into a Genealogy Blog. I could show you some cool pictures of my ancestors and tell some interesting stories.