Anybody dealing with physical ailments delaying your project?

wow, the world gets smaller and smaller every day - I lived with my granny on East Madison for a number of years, next door to EL Cajon Valley High...'80-83..

 

Rotator cuff not really delaying it,but slowing it up.

 

Yeah, I started that. Plus, laying on the cold cement doesn't have the alllure it once had.

But, like most of you, I'm ready to help a friend!

 

Upper respiratory infection for the last two months. This isn't a normal one,but for me it is. I get it the same time every year and it's the only time I get sick,and nothing makes it go away,so I just have to deal with it. None of this compares to the problems from all the punishment my body has gone through. Back mostly,but I bear through it.

List of injuries include: Both hands with multiple fractures and 6 out of 10 digits broken,right wrist broken in three places including growth plate, 7 ribs broken and one dislocated,to herniated,two lower slipped discs and two herniated slipped discs in back,fractured vertebrae in neck,both knees dislocated about 4 to 5 times each,dislocated hip,fractured right shin,torn growth plate on right ankle,shattered right foot,skull fractures,fractured lower mandible,broken nose,fractured orbital socket(Left eye),both rotator cuffs torn. Yup,most of these were below the age of 16. The lower back,jaw and rotator cuffs were 5 years ago after getting hit by a car while crossing a big parking lot,hit and run. Yup,fun stuff,and when it's cold,my body let's me know it hates me,haha. All this and I'm not even 30 yet.

 

Being a teacher in the medical field and reading over these posts, you all have the tenacity of a pit bull. It is good to read that people try hard to over come their physical disabilities and accomplish something no matter how small. My ailment is mental and I am my own worst enemy......which leads to my lack of motivation.....

 

throat cancer so I gotta breath thru a hole in my throat and prostrate cancer last year. I cant believe I'm alive so every day seems like a bonus. It really helps if financially your not straped too bad, but ya gotta be happy for what ya got. When your gone your gone.

 

1982 - I moved out at the age of 17( Knew it all) and moved into an apartment on Ballentyne and Madison. We were practically nieghbors. I drove a 70 Buick GS Stage 1, white w/black top. The apartments I lived in was a muscle car showcase - My Buick, a 70 SS nova LT1, 67 GTO vert, 69 TransAm vert and a 69 SS 396 Chevelle vert.

 

some of you guys deserve medals for what you`re putting up with...mine seems kinda tame...i had 2 discs pop out about 7 years ago..our wonderful health system took so long to diagnose the problem by time they found out what had happened the upper disc was cutting through my spinal chord, the nerve damage was beyond repair and now everyday i take copious amounts of drugs to forget the pain....a wheelchair is in the future....i work on our projects (ok the latest one is not a hamb friendly project, its a jeans bug for my son to do the 1320 very quickly) but it takes 2-3 weeks to get over a few days work...but like everyone else you dont give in!!!fuck that how boring would that be

 

The main way to look at all these aliments is to be thankful for waking up each day and seeing those around us that we love. We are only care takers of the cars and trucks we build. Someday someone else will be taking care of them. I won't meation my problems, but when you really stop and think what the aternative is, like not hearing another gust of wind blow through the trees, or another bird chirp, or the sound of children laughing while they play, I'd say we have it pretty good. Alot of it is keeping a strong mental state of ourselves no matter how bad things get. Remember the man up stairs will never give you more than you can bare, talk to him often and be happy.

 

Im 56 and need both hips replaced,both knees replaced,back surgery,have three hernias,6 plates in my head from acident w/kneck pain.Over weight and cant have hip or knees fixed till i loose 35 lbs,Dr told me to start walking,i told him fine while im out ill sign up for the olyimpics,he didnt think it was funny and i didnt think him telling me to start walking was funny when i use crutches for everything.Oh now its taxing my shoulders.But there are MANY that have it a lot worse than i,and im very thankfull for the health i have.............left............................YG

 

What a great way to look at life. Thanks for that, really uplifting.

 

Yeah I have some back issues, but kids have delayed my projects for the past 18 years......I'm not kidding. They have sat untouched!

 

I know a little about what some of you guys are going thru..I had an accident 26 years ago. flat out for 1 1/2 years! tryed to work the next 6 years. then started having strokes, how many? don't even know...neck all messed up from the accident, both shoulders bad, bad low back, high blood pres. high col. diabetes, and prostate cancer, my left side is slow kinda drag my foot along. worst thing ,maybe... my ears ring!! never stop!!! some days , like the phone is ringing...nothing helps...whats important... my wife loves me, my kids/grand kids do to!!!! altho my old man tells people "he's just lazy ect. ect." I got this way work'n!! and I still work when i can..because i like work'n!!! cars, my house, help alot of other people when i can
HANG IN THERE

 

I'll have to say that what some of you are dealing with makes a smashed index finger and thumb time on my left hand (left handed) and a bit of arthritis in the joints small spuds. I can't do some of the fine touch things on carbs like I used to and once in a while I have to get my son to do some things but other than cold damp weather being a pain in the joints I get along pretty well.

 

........................when those warm days do come back, don't be a stranger! Give me a call and I can do the wrenching on the T if you arn't up to it and maybe I can learn some things from you while getting that rod closer to the road! By the way, today I got all but two bikes out of the garage and one of those will be parted out and leave soon. That means the 53 is that much closer to getting some attention! Woot Woot!
Take care buddy!

 

I'm 54 and both knees totaly replaced last year.I get around pretty damned good now,except I can't get on my knees any more.When I do get down,I look like a fat spider trying to fuck a mirror when I get back up.

 

Well mine happened about 7 years ago when it all came to the boiling point , carpal tunnel in both arms , bad rotator cups in both shoulders , bad knees and a lower back pain .
Well the pain in my lower back got to be so bad that I could had trouble moving or bending over and had trouble feeling my toes . Well at work they sent me to their Dr and well take a week off and gave me some pain pills and go to the therapist . Well we know what that did , nothing but waist my time . This went off and on for 6 months one day I went out my back door to let my dog out and all of a sudden the pain went from the bottom of my back to both sides and up my entire back . Well I let out a scream that was herd for miles ! never had pain like that in my life and couldn't move . My wife took me to the Hospital and took an MPI . Well that told the whole story . 3 bad dice in my lower back all in a line . Well they gave me all kinds of pain meds and nothing would help . Well after all the damn test and everything else Dr said I would never work again ! That was something I thought I would never here !
Long story short the Dr gave me Oxycontin which kind of helped . Well over 2 years ended up taking 80 mg 3 x a day ! Then my internal system started shutting down so they took me to the hospital and took me off the Oxy's . Went through 3 days of withdraws . Living hell ! I am know on Fentanyl patches and work the best . Depression is very bad and the list goes on .
I try to make myself work in the garage when I can but is very hard . I am now going through allergy shots because I ended up in the hospital last year with berating problems .
Anyway I am still alive and have good & bad days . Wish someone lived closer to me so we could shoot the shit , drink some beer and help each other work on our cars so we could get them done .
I know it's a long story but life sucks when you have trouble seeing the end of the tunnel !
I have said enough , sure there are some worst off than me for sure .

RetroJim

 

My late older brother (who was also my mentor ) was a polio victim in 1954 when i was 16. He couldn't move or breathe and he lived with a portable resparator for 11 years. I have all the typical arthritic and heart problems of a 71 year old man, but, none of them can ever approach the pain and suffering of my brother. I live my life knowing how fortunate i am to be able to do anything normal.

 

I have no meniscus in my left knee from a motorcycle accident, and due to improper rehab from it, the joint is starting to wear out. Still in psychical therapy for it. While i was there, they discovered that i have a genetic malformation in my hips which cause my legs to be twisted outwords. Here i thought that it was just the way i walk, and now come to find out thats whats reeking havoc on my joints. Slowly training my legs foreward, but its a slow and painfull process.

Also tore 3 out of 4 rotator cuff muscles in my right shoulder, broke and dislocated my collar bone, and tore the muscles that control my shoulder blade. 2 years of PT for that one.

And i just rounded my 19th Birthday!

 

Your welcome, glad I could help.

 

I feel your pain im only 38, have had r/a for years. Crippiling me for years. Took embrel for yrs and it just quit working one day. Started remicade 6 mounths a go. Its starting to do the trick. Keep your hopes up, pray alot and remember pain is just weakness leaving your body! Last but not least,I have a awsome wife to listen to all my aches and pains!!!

 

I have been blessed with 65 amazing years. Took my life and health for granted until I slipped and fell under a train just before I turned 21. Woke up in the hospital with no left arm, double vision, crushed sinuses, punctured ear drum and stumps where my front teeth used to be. Eleven days in the hospital, three months at home and it was back to work. Pain wasn't bad but I suffered bouts of rage (why'd this happen to me, my life is ruined, etc. etc. etc.). I had to smile for my wife and kids but inside I was mad as hell and it was wrecking my life. Had a so-called nervous breakdown and spent some time with a shrink who helped me understand and deal with the rage. Suggested I re-learn doing the things I enjoyed and try new things. Did as he said and it turned out I can do almost anything I want, just not real fast and some things not real well. Probably why my project car has been in the works for 27 years. Leaned to waterski and windsurf but gave up mini-bikes and skateboards (busting up the only arm left is not good).

Learned to treat each day as a gift. Just like Christmas, not every one is what I wanted or asked for. I also didn't get to exchange or return them. I've received more than 16,000 since the accident. No idea how many more I'll get but even the bad ones will be worth it. My beautiful wife has stuck with me through it all and we've seen our two kids and nine grandchildren grow up. Greatest disappointment in my life is that there isn't a car nut in the bunch.

I feel for all of you who are suffering. The most I can offer is a smile, which isn't much but I know that look of pity you get handed don't help at all.

 

Yea! I physically dont have a job any more!!

 

Fell off a roof years ago and broke my leg and hip. (12 places) learn't to work sitting on a chair. 20 minutes, a couple of times a week and went from there. 30 years later I still know the value of doing a little instead of over doing it. Out of this I use to do a article for the club newsletter called the 20 minute restorer. It's amazing what you can get done in a week, 20 minutes a day.
On the rough days stay put and "Dream about what to build".

The Old TInbasher

 

I have a knee problem that they can't get a handle on.. I can only be on my feet about a half hour at a time at best, so that's been really getting in the way. Im headed to my second MRI for it next week and then most likely surgery.. Im pretty banged up for a 28 year old.

 

I'm bipolar manic-depressive, does not always make it easy to function. Ever want to paint the walls?

 

Was diagnosed with kidney cancer this fall. Got my kidney removed along with the tumor in October. 2 days before surgery, we drive 5 hours to buy a new race car. I told the guy if I lived through surgery and the prognosis was good, I'd take it. 2 weeks after surgery my racing partner got me in his pickup and we drove back out to haul it home. I wasn't any help loading it but the trip was good for me even if it hurt.

A couple years ago I was diagnosed with aetrial fibrulation (don't know how to spell it but my heart went out of rythm). While getting my blood thickness to the correct level so they could shock me and put it back in rythm, I bought my unibody. Picked it up on a Tuesday evening and got shocked the next day.

Seems like if I have a goal/project sitting in front of me I do better. The wife and I also find that I get through this shit better if we go for a ride, a lot. We drove hundreds of miles after my cancer find. Drive a hundred miles, eat lunch, drive back home.

Life sucks sometimes as we get older. It also gets better in some ways though.

SPark

 

In 1974 I had a bad motorcycle wreck.Broken back and left femur.They fused my back and put a rod in the femur.In 1979 another motorcycle wreck breaking my right knee backwards.Fractured Tibeal plateau I believe is what the doc called it.Anyway I lived with pain and walked with a bad limp for the next 30 years.In Aug.1998 one day I started peeing blood.Turned out to be Renal cell cancer and I lost my left kidney.3 years later in 2001 the cancer came back in my left lung and I lost a piece of the lower lobe.Still getting cat scanned once a year from that.This past Sept. the pain from walking on bone on bone forced me to get a full knee replacement.Still have terrible back pain and can't lie on a creeper for too long at a time.I still ride my Harleys and work on my cars,just not as much as I used to.I can't imagine what I'd do if I couldn't.

 

I've had a broke tail bone, ruptured disks in my back, left ankle broke twice, right 3 times, and a knee surgery. (15 years of skateboarding) Now after a 10 hour day of work it is next to impossible for me to work on a project.

 

same here. 34 and on dissability. I have to say when I worked( machinist) I used to dream of not working...like they say be careful what you wish for, not working sucks. i get a decent ssdi But never feel like I'm earning a living. looking for a part time but my medical conditions make that challenging, need just the right posistion. Thank god for my wife though...she knew I was sick and still wanted to marry my broken ass. I really feel for all you guys.good luck to all