Since November 15 I have been in the woods two times. On 11/15 I saw 10 different bucks, including the giant 8 that I missed, which made that the third time I saw him. that was the last day I hunted with my bow. I went squirrel hunting on November 21, came home that afternoon and spent the next week sick as hell. Flu, Covid, RSV, common cold, I do not know, do not care. Still not 100% over it. On Monday (yes, the opening day of gun season) I went to see spine doctor with MRI disc in hand and found out for sure what I already suspected from my own research. I have a bulging disc at L4-L5 and a bone spur putting pressure on my L5 nerve root which is causing all my problems. My spine is perfectly aligned and there is absolutely nothing else going on with my spine or pelvis. Doctors never cease to amaze me. This man tells me I have 5 options. That is about 3 too many for anyone with a brain. I shudder to think what my insurance is paying this guy. Option 1 is to just live with it and hope it gets better doing what I've been doing, option 2 is PT, which I have been doing on my own for 5 months with marginal improvement. Option three is pain medication, forever, I guess, option 4 is epidural steroid injections, and last one is surgery. 30 minute outpatient procedure with a two week recovery time. Surgery would involve removing bone spur and putting disc back where it belongs. I asked him if there was any good reason to do surgery without trying to get better with the injections first, and he could not give me one in light of my otherwise perfect spine and my overall health being just fine. So, I had to go back the next day at 2:30 to meet with the pain management doctor who administers the steroids for a consultation. I had every intention of taking the revolver out Tuesday morning, and no desire to let this unexpected doctor appt. stop me. So, I stuck with my plan. I was a little uneasy about taking my gun to the woods without practicing a little, but I did it anyway although that was a first for me. I squirmed around for about two hours trying to get comfortable in tree stand. I did pass up a 20 yard shot at a likely 4 1/2 year old buck with a giant four point antler on his left and a 16" spike on his right. This guy would have been 140" easy with a matching antler. Just before 9:00 a nice thick 1 1/2 year old came in by herself and I shot her at about 22 paces having not pulled that trigger since the button buck I shot a year ago. Bang, leap, flop, stillness. I was able to drive the truck right to her but getting her in and out of truck by myself was a little painful. I had to work fast, but I did manage to get her skinned, quartered and into fridge before my doctor appointment, which was very good because it got up to 58 degrees here that day. The pain doctor was a breath of fresh air on top of my very busy morning. He was VERY confident that two injections would get me over the hump to a full recovery without surgery, perhaps only one shot needed depending on the response. These are very simple injections, too, not requiring the use of a fluoroscope or other imaging to place the needle correctly because the disc is barely bulging and in only one direction. The soonest I could get the first shot is 12/14, and then the second one three weeks later. I'm tired of waiting and living with this, but I don't have a choice. Tomorrow, we squirrel hunt for as long as I can take it. I've been looking forward to this for a long time, but it is harder to get excited knowing that I'm only good for a few hours at most and that I have to limit/pace myself for a few more weeks, at least.
Maybe doing better than me today.
