Community Forums

CARLnJANIS · 01-11-2025, 06:39 PM

To all my friends and acquaintances that I have had the pleasure to know on the EXCEL forum and those I met on the road over the last eleven years, I bid farewell.

Janis and I decided to sell our EXCEL trailer and buy Super C so we could tow a Jeep. In September, 2023, after preparing the truck and trailer to sell and taking it to a dealer, I was narrowing down the model we were going to purchase. I was sitting at my PC looking at the remaining models and I twisted in the chair to talk to Janis. Nerve pain shot down my left leg and I started writhing in intense pain. A call to the on-call doctor and he stated that I had snagged a nerve. After a visit to a neurosurgeon, it was worse than a snagged nerve. My back was a mess, two ruptured and one bulging disk. One disk was gone and the two vertebrae were fused naturally. And a couple of vertebrae were in a degenerative state. When the neurosurgeon saw my CT-Scan and MRI pictures, she let out a muffled “mmm”. You don’t want your doctor to say a muffled “mmm”.

In April, 2024, I ended up having my entire lumbar spine and part of my thoracic spine fused and two rods put in, from T10 to the Iliac. Recovery will take between 12 to 24 months due to the actual back surgery and nerve injuries caused from being on the surgical table for 12 hours, which is actually not that uncommon.

Whether we can take up traveling again is an unknown. Of course, at this point in time it doesn’t seem it will happen. I can only drive or ride in a vehicle no more than two hours a day. But who knows, if I can recover enough, we may take a shot at traveling again.

Y’all be careful out there and I will still be monitoring the forum from time to time.

Carl

RV is for me · 01-11-2025, 11:32 PM

Wow, that was kinda hard to read. I wish you a quick recovery!

Arch Hoagland · 01-11-2025, 11:39 PM

Good luck my friend.

I've had upper back surgery where they took bone out of my hip and put it in my neck about 40 years ago. I came out fine and it's still good so I'm wishing the same for you.

CARLnJANIS · 01-12-2025, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RV is for me

Wow, that was kinda hard to read. I wish you a quick recovery!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arch Hoagland

Good luck my friend.

I've had upper back surgery where they took bone out of my hip and put it in my neck about 40 years ago. I came out fine and it's still good so I'm wishing the same for you.

Thank you both for the good luck and wishes.

dw8ite · 01-13-2025, 08:56 AM

Sorry to hear of your back surgery and healing time, Carl. Praying for pain free healing.
Don

Gravelette · 01-13-2025, 09:05 AM

Hopefully you got the truck and trailer sold. You can always get something if your condition improves more than expected.

CARLnJANIS · 01-13-2025, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dw8ite

Sorry to hear of your back surgery and healing time, Carl. Praying for pain free healing.
Don

Thanks Don,
Except for the nerve damage pain, I'm doing all right all things considered. My lower back muscles don't know what to do now. So I keep straining and pulling them. The doctor's office mantra is no BLT and it isn't bacon, lettuce, and tomato. It is no bending, lifting, or twisting. It is hard to move around without at least doing one of them.

Take care and be safe, Carl.

CARLnJANIS · 01-13-2025, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gravelette

Hopefully you got the truck and trailer sold. You can always get something if your condition improves more than expected.

Gravelette,
It took a year because of bad timing, but they have both sold. The truck sold first and it took a little longer for the trailer. Still hoping we can hit the road again in 2027, but time will tell.
Take care, Carl.