My Back

Traveling while you have mobility issues is a real pain. For many people, this is part of their normal routine. To those people, I have much patience. Me? I'm a part timer.

Over the last 10 years I've had a couple of episodes of spinal issues. This blog post details how things have been.

Jess looking on with annoyance as I take a selfie on the back of an airport transport vehicle.
These helped me get around the Airport while I wasn't able to walk.

The plan for 2024

2024 had the hallmarks of a corker. In March, the purchase of mine and Jessica's first house would be complete. In April, a trip to Australia for a friends wedding. In September, my very own wedding in Australia and a honeymoon at  The Great Barrier Reef. 

But things haven't panned out as well as we hoped.

My new house. The one on the left

The Past

Time jump about 10 years into the past. I'm 23 years old, and somehow I slip a disc in my back. Don't ask me how. I don't know how. 

It presented itself in what now seems a mild form. I would wake up, normally with pins and needles, and mostly unable to move my right leg.

As the day would progress, feeling and motion would return. To the point that I could do most normal things of a day, with medium to little pain. I couldn't run a marathon or bounce on a trampoline, but I was able to continue to work as normal.

Things didn't get better, so I ended up getting surgery. It was successful, with some very mild occasional pain in my back. I could run a marathon and bounce on a trampoline. 

Sometime around 2014. Just about to go into surgery for my back.

The Recent Past

In February 2023 Jess and I travel to Australia. Maybe the best holiday ever? We did a lot. A couple of months later, my back starts playing up. At first it was just a mild pain, then all of a sudden I wasn't able to run. 

I enjoy the occasional jog over the years. Not as much recently, but a fun run in Feb 2023 while on holiday spurred me on to start running again. But one day I simply wasn't able. A shooting nerve pain up by back stopped me from managing anything more than a walk.  

Back issues continued like this for some time. It was inconvenient, but not too bad.

The Very Recent Past

We moved into our new home on March 1st 2024. About 2 days later, I wasn't able to walk more than a few hundred meters without terrible agony. My pain level went through the roof, and my mobility took a plunge. 

In April, a planned holiday to Australia for a friends wedding. The timing was pretty bad. My mobility was terrible, but we couldn't cancel. We ploughed on anyway, and I managed. Only just. The plane trip on the way home was one of the worst things I've ever experienced.

Me and Jess at the Wedding. Panasonic GX80 & Lumix14mm f/1.7 - April 2024

The below graph from my fitness tracker shows how my mobility took a plunge. In previous years I averaged 10,000 steps in a year. So normally 8-12k per month. In May and June I was averaging 3,000 steps.

The Present

Things are looking up. Medication seems to be doing the trick, and my mobility is improving. Also, it turns out that cycling is not even slightly painful. 

I've been motivating myself to leave the house, being active on my bike, and taking photos. I've sparked an interest in bugs and macro - lets see where that goes.

Partly because It doesn't require much walking. Partly because its summer. Partly because there's lots of bugs. Partly because its new.

Some kind of bug somewhere behind my house - Panasonic G9 & Lumix50mm f/1.7 - July 2024

I've started back at work, currently building up to full time hours. I'm glad to be back.

The Future

As I write this, my wedding is in 29 days. Its pretty exciting and pretty scary. Its a useful distraction. Sometimes I forget about the pain for half a day at a time, and its almost like things are back to normal. 

My focus over the last few months has been getting better. So I can manage my way through the wedding day and enjoy it. 

Waiting times for surgery are astronomical and it might not help. I think my chances are better through gentle rehab. At home. Yoga and cycling.

Clearly something is wrong with my back, or I have some bad habits I need to break. Posture and seating position at work perhaps? 

Who knows. My only wish for the future is - happiness with Jess and good health. 

Seems like its not much to ask for.