T-12

This Summer I ended up with a 30% compression fracture of my T-12 vertebra[1]. I like to tell people that I was on my motorcycle jumping over 3 school buses, but in fact, I was on a ladder re-attaching some vinyl siding that had fallen off due to storms. I had my 12-year old, a paragon of attention[2]. I fell, landed on a shrub (it's okay) and my ankle (it's okay) before continuing to fall on my back. It hurt like a mo-fo, but once the initial pain was over, I went up stairs, had my son get me some cold water and put a movie in the DVD player. I had also called my wife, who went ballistic, left work, and carted me to the ER. I ended up in the hospital for three or four days[3] after MRIs and other probes and prods. I ended up with an IV and a catheter. The later was extremely uncomfortable and violated my rules on body orifices that are one way. Taking it out hurt, but compared to kidney stones, it was a stroll through the park.

I ended up going the bed rest route. This saved my insurance company some 200K (my guess), but did I get a thanks? What's your guess? What can I say about staying in a hospital bed for 9 weeks with a brace (that they didn't follow my instructions and reinforce with kevlar)? I stayed on the computer and had people to minister to my (cough) needs. I love my family, but having them as the only people to talk to was a real travail. Once I got on my feet, I visited the bathroom and took a shower -- pure heaven.

The really bad sides? I missed a site visit with a contractor in Huntsville (aerospace corrosion metallurgist -- which I am not) the week that I fell, and I also missed an site interview with an X-ray diffraction manufacturer[4] in Madison (google it if you are interested). They wanted a person to be their point expert on semiconductor applications -- I'd answer the phone questions and e-mails, do on-site training, etc. Couldn't go to site interview, they canceled the job. I like to say it was because they couldn't get me, but it could have been the sucky economy.

[1]This was my first broken bone in my XX years.
[2]He is beside me on photo, you just have to guess which is me.
[3]This is the only hospital stay that I've ever had.
[4]I used one of their instruments and I got a (metaphorical) hard-on. Wow. One of the 2 or 3 most impressive instruments that I've ever used.