Summer\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Waxing Summer Moon<\/p>\n
Up to Elk River with Kate to see Dr. Bewin, a pm&r doc (physical medicine and rehabilitation).\u00a0 He’s a tall, fit man with gray hair and a reserved manner.\u00a0 His demeanor in the office was professional, taking careful notes and putting Kate through a series of movements to discern the current state of her pain and its sources.<\/p>\n
In the end his news was sobering, that is, he said no surgeon will touch her back, “Just too complicated.”\u00a0 That means more physical therapy and possible injections, but no long term fix.\u00a0 Her neck, a somewhat less complicated area (but still her neck), might still respond to surgical procedure.\u00a0 We’ll check that out in a month or so with a couple of neuro-surgeons.<\/p>\n
She’s dealt with this ongoing problem since our honeymoon, when she carried two liters of water in her backpack and felt some pain the following day.\u00a0 This degenerative disc disease did not start then, but its appearance in our lives did.\u00a0 Now here we are, 20 years later, still deciding, still treating.<\/p>\n
Kate’s ability to endure and to endure and get significant work accomplished staggers me.\u00a0 It has its limits.\u00a0 The combination of neck and lower back challenges even Kate’s Norwegian toughness.\u00a0 I believe her conditions will ameliorate somewhat with retirement when she has more control over her movements on any given day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summer\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Waxing Summer Moon Up to Elk River with Kate to see Dr. Bewin, a pm&r doc (physical medicine and rehabilitation).\u00a0 He’s a tall, fit man with gray hair and a reserved manner.\u00a0 His demeanor in the office was professional, taking careful notes and putting Kate through a series of movements to discern the current … Continue reading A Pain in the Neck (and the Lower Back)<\/span>