Play The Hand You're Dealt With

Play The Hand You're Dealt With

On Wednesday I got some very bad news. Some of you know that I've had a condition called Sciatica since I was twenty-five. Sciatica is a bulging disk that's pressing on the Sciatica nerve between level four and level five of the lower spine. The symptoms are a throbbing pain going down the leg. In my case it's my right leg.

I've been able to live with this condition my whole adult life without taking pain pills. I looked at it in two ways. First, I got my father's brain, my father's sense of humor, but also his bad spine. To me this was a good trade off. Second, I've always looked upon my condition as the fact that I have bad bumpers, however, my engine and transmission are in great shape.  

Well, a month ago, I started to have some pain down my left leg. I was able to manage it with ibuprofen. Sunday, three weeks later, at the breakfast table, I sneezed. That made the pain down my left leg so bad that I couldn't walk and had to get around in a wheelchair. On Tuesday, I went to my pain doctor and he immediately got me in to have an MRI. 

On Wednesday, my doctor reviewed the results of the MRI and it wasn't a pretty picture. I had blown out two disks between levels one thru three on my lower spine. Both of which are pressing on the nerves down there.

Obviously, Wednesday was a very bad day for me. Late that night I realized I was very scared, but I didn't know why. I wanted to talk it through with somebody so I called the smartest person I know. We talked for two hours. I was a mess. My beautiful wife, Ellen, saw that I was distraught and asked me why. Crying, I told her that I was so scared that I wouldn't be Kenny anymore.

I love Kenny. Kenny is a great person. Kenny loves to laugh. Kenny is an honest and respectful person. Kenny loves people. Most of all, Kenny loves LIFE!

The next day, I woke up feeling great. I realized that I would never let me lose Kenny. That afternoon, Ellen asked me what she should make me for dinner. I told her I want to go out to our favorite happy hour place. She said: "are you up to that" and I said: "more than you can imagine."

Happy hour was great. I used my cane to get onto a bar stool, had a few scotches and dinner. I even went down stairs to the slot machines and played for a few hours in my wheelchair. The next day was a fabulous Passover dinner at a friend's house that on Wednesday we had cancelled going. I told Ellen I wanted to go and we had a fantastic time - I WAS KENNY AGAIN.

Sooo, I'm going to have to have surgery. Ellen's uncle always said: "always make something good out of something bad." What I believe now is that after surgery and a long recovery period, I'll be out of pain for the first time in my life - WOW, that's something I've always dreamed about.

Play The Hand You're Dealt With