Hey D, so what's been happening with you?

[Duc2V4]

Hey all, I know some of you had read about my latest "adventure" from the header thread posted by sfdownhill. Just wanted to chime in directly, as it was truly an ADVENTURE!

I should first say, thank you to both sfdownhill and shotgunz, these two are some of the best people you can have on your side. Even if they could not contribute to my betterment medically, just their presence and their visits really helped me recover mentally. Knowing I have such good people who care about me really made a difference, so thanks guys, I really appreciate you stopping by!

As for my story, well, that started 16 years ago I guess, when I went to the Dr. to see why my upper arms seemed to be going numb every once in a while. Well, after being poked and prodded and quizzed and scanned, we did determine a pinched back muscle was the cause BUT they did find something inside my head via an MRI that really shouldn't have been there.

Yep, some little "tumor" like item that was beneath my forehead and just behind the left eye. Well, of course that brings up a whole other topic of what to do about it. The Dr. I had did not think it was something overly threatening and felt that it had been there awhile and based on what he saw in the MRI, felt I was probably something we could keep an eye on. That is, unless I wanted to remove it then.

After a few conversations and feeling good about it, we decided to just keep an eye on it, meaning take MRIs of it every 6 months or so, so that's what we did. Fast forward another 15 years and BANG! The tumor decided that it needed a little more room, so it grew a CM and that's all it took to trigger a seizure! Yep, 1AM or so in the middle of December 28th, 2022 my wife wakes up to me "snoring".

Well, so she thought. The normal process is to poke me in my side and tell me to roll over on my left side so my snoring stops. Well, that didn't work. Let me shake him awake and see if he'll turn...hmm, that didn't work either. Wait a minute is that snoring? Realizing that what we normally do did not work, she listened more carefully, note that she had lost a lot of her hearing some years back, so somethings don't always sound like what they are. Well, on comes on the bedroom light and low and behold, yours truly was having a full-on seizure.

She sees me biting my tongue, blood coming out my mouth and me in full on seizure mode! BAM! runs straight to the phone, calls 911 and low and behold, within minutes the ambulance is there ready to rush me to the hospital. She literally saved my life folks, had she not been there or reacted as fast as she did, I would have most likely drowned on my own fluids. So, if I say or do anything here on the forum that upsets you, you can blame her 😉

What was so weird and odd about this happening, I had no recollection of anything up until I wake up in an ambulance strapped down to the gurney. WTF! As I start to come to, I start looking at where I am and what condition I'm in..."Wait, I'm in my pajamas strapped to a bed, holy s#!t, they've taken me from my bed! Where's my wife, please tell me she's not in this same predicament????!"

Well, the crew start to let me know what exactly is going on but I'm still a little slow to process but ultimately demand I be released from the bed, unfortunately, I wasn’t, and I finally get to the hospital. Here is where I finally become more myself again and learn of what had transpired. This is also when they start to really quiz you to see exactly where you are mentally. Gratefully I am answering their questions well and accurately BUT one of the crew decides to quiz me on when I was married. I let him know, "October 17, 1998", he then asks, how long have you been married? I say 20 years or so...He snapped back "It's 24 years!"

Oh no you didn't! I raise my head look him in the face and say very vocally "At least I got the F#cking date right!" Oddly, this is where I felt I wanted to smack him! Alas, I didn't. Probably for the better. 🙂 Well, a week later I'm talking to the surgeons and getting ready for my Craniotomy. When did that happen? Friday the 13th! Yes, you heard that right, all good though, everything went well, could not have asked for a better outcome.

I have to say that all in all, I been through a lot but can honestly say that I feel really good and have very little to NO PAIN! Can't ask for better than that, right? Unfortunately having this surgery means a few things, #1, No riding of motorcycle for quite some time ☹, #2, No drinking for quite some time, but that's not always a bad thing. #3, get healed up!

What can I add here, for sure 2 more things, #1, you can never have too many friends and family to support you while you are in the hospital, whether that's before, during or after surgery. And ultimately...IT'S GOOD TO BE ALIVE!

Cheers, D

[Sweeper]

 

Good to see you are on the path to recovery. That zipper is going to be an opportunity for some great lies.😜 Went through the seizure thing with my dad last year and can confirm it is scary stuff. 

[Dash]

Wow, get well soon, D! Glad your wife made the call, truly an adventure. Hoping for a speedy recovery.

[MBrane]

Damn that's a helluva shiner ya got there! Funny how quick things can go sideways sometimes. Here's to a speedy, and complete recovery!

[MBrane]

Hey there.... MBrane's companion here (aka viffergyrl aka Kris). Holy moly! What an adventure! But ya know.... chicks dig scars. 

 

Heal up quick!! (We met your wife that one day we visited - remember us to her. We are truly grateful for her.)

[V4 Rosso]

Wow, that's quite an ordeal you went through. Best wishes on #3 👍

[Duc2V4]

Thanks for the well wishes everyone, much appreciated! My brother, 'Shotgunz' said I should change my name to "Chicane", due to the new scar, said it reminded him of chicane on a race track. What do you think?

[MBrane]

Just glad you're still here, and can make jokes about it.

[boOZZIE]

Hey all the best mate and a speedy recovery D

 

Cheers 

[Duc2V4]

14 hours ago, MBrane said:

Just glad you're still here, and can make jokes about it.

I with you there brother. Have to blame my dad though. He was just a prankster all around. Like the time I came crying to him cause a dog had bitten me on the park playground. His retort..."Well, go bite him back"

 

I learned 2 things that day after doing so. #1, don't always take pops seriously and #2, it was best way to become the alpha male on the park playground! Dog never bothered me after that but boy did my dad get a tongue lashing from my mom!

[Sweeper]

15 hours ago, Duc2V4 said:

Thanks for the well wishes everyone, much appreciated! My brother, 'Shotgunz' said I should change my name to "Chicane", due to the new scar, said it reminded him of chicane on a race track. What do you think?

Maybe Frank? 😜 (insert gif of Peter Boyle dancing) Sorry, I'm too lazy to go find and insert it.

 

Your dad sounds like my kind of guy. My child tells everybody that she had older siblings instead of parents. She turned out to be an awesome person.

[thepretender]

Which track dose it look like most? Laguna Seca, Assen, Red Bull...

[Duc2V4]

1 hour ago, thepretender said:

Which track dose it look like most? Laguna Seca, Assen, Red Bull...

Not sure yet, but I go back to the Dr.'s this Thursday, so hoping to get a better look at it. I'm hoping it looks like the "Corkscrew", I've been called a bit "screwy" more than a few times. 🙂

 

[RC1237V]

Wow, that was quite the adventure, and a scary one at that!  Glad you are doing well, and yes, humor does heal... <--- Healing Quickly

 

Like I said to SF, I hope your recovery is as fast as your riding!

 

Looking forward to tearing up the Sierras with you again... 

 

 

 

 

[Dangeruss]

I had a bout of TLDR and scrolled to the pictures, said Jesus H F@$%ing Christ loud enough to raise my wife a floor above me, and then backed up for a full read. Amazing story, and so glad your wife woke up. I think you should change your user name to DucKed the Reaper. I just had my hip resurfaced after years of waiting (Canadian public health care system, you get what you pay for) so I didn't ride at all in 2022, too uncomfortable after 10 minutes. I gave my VFR an extensive 'cleaning' and upgrades during this time and expect to be riding it this spring, so you'll find it'll go by fast if you keep busy with it. Look after yourself and use the time to be in your best shape ever for when you get back.

Laughing beats crying every time and it sounds like you've got that covered, heal fast.

[3rdgenred]

You should have a handful of puzzles together 😁

[Duc2V4]

For those following this thread. I met with the Neurosurgeons last week and got the OK to go back to work Feb 1st., albeit from Home for now, but none the less, they gave their blessing on my returning to a more normal life! Have to see the Neurologist this Thursday to see if/when I can get my DL reinstated, they suspended it due to the seizure. Also want to know if/when I can stop taking meds twice a day. I know it will be sometime before I can ride again, let alone even put on a helmet but when I do get to do both, I'm going for the longest ride I've taken in some time!

 

Anyway, thanks all for the well wishes I have to say somethings going right, as I still have no pain! Maybe the wife is right, I just may be a numb skull 😉

 

Here's a more recent pic of me feeling and getting better.

 

Cheers!

D

 

[bmart]

Looking good! I wish that I was close enough to join you on that ride. 

[MBrane]

 Maybe by the time you're ready to ride again my road (yes I consider 33 to be my road) will be fixed. If not I would enjoy hitting some south OC/San Diego roads for sure. Been too long since I've been down there.

 

 Good to see you're on the mend. Kris sends her regards.

[Duc2V4]

Just realized I didn't post any update or my latest news. First the update, had a post surgery meeting with the neurosurgeon and he felt that I was doing very well and as long as I didn't have to be in an office to work, he was giving me the OK to be back at work, albeit, working from home. Luckily, for my role at the company, I have the luxury of doing just that. So starting on Feb 1st, 2023, I was back at work. The company let me bring "my desk" home, meaning 2 monitors, keyboard/mouse and laptop docking station, so I didn't miss a beat, didn't have to deal with a lot of bureaucratic BS by being away for a long time, so whew!

 

So what next? A waiting game. When I had my seizure, the neurologist that saw me reported the seizure and I guess the California DMV suspended my driver's license because of it. When I went to the neurosurgeon and asked him if they were the ones to give the OK to get my license reinstated, he said no, that would be the neurologist who saw you at the time you had the seizure. So met with them the following week and asked what I needed to do in order to be able to drive again. Long story short, I had to agree to be on anti-seizure medication for 2 years and wait 3 months from the time of the seizure without having another one and without suffering side affects or complications from the first seizure. WOW! OK. Although this might seem extreme, if I didn't want to be on medication or to be off of it sooner, the wait time would have to be 6 months. So I said, "Two years and three months it is!" onward and upward. I'm just hoping after the three months is up, that the California DMV will be kind enough to reinstate my drivers license without a huge hassle!

 

On that vein, I do have to see both the neurologist and the neurosurgeon in April, the former should be able to give the OK to get my license back and the latter should be able to say when I can go back to riding a motorcycle again, or at the very least when I can strap on a helmet without any issues. Ultimately that's my goal, to be back in the fray with the lot of you on the roads riding to our hearts content. We'll see how that goes, but I'll update you all for sure when that happens.

 

In regards to my latest news, I had my yearly physical on Feb 9th and all was great. My regular DR. said she was impressed on how fast I recovered and that all my vitals, heart rate, lungs, etc.  looked great. Did my bloodwork and just about every category we monitor, I was in the range we were aiming for, prior to the surgery. Essentially, I'm better now than before surgery, can't ask for more than that, right? Anyway, thanks for reading this and I hope that this info is helpful, if not inspirational to anyone else going through health issues.

 

Cheers,

D

 

 

[TimC]

That's a great update!!  👍

 

But jeez, what a hassle to get your driver's license reinstated.  Considering that all the morons we see who make idiotic and dangerous moves on a daily basis get to keep their licenses, it's incredible it will take months to get your license back.  I guess safety first, but I'd worry more about the average boneheaded cager than you on the road!

 

Anyway, onward and upward!  🙂 

[MBrane]

You can count on the gov to make the simple complicated every time.....

[Duc2V4]

18 minutes ago, MBrane said:

You can count on the gov to make the simple complicated every time.....

That's what I'm afraid of!

[Skids]

1 hour ago, MBrane said:

You can count on the gov to make the simple complicated every time.....

Everywhere!

 

Thanks for the update Duc, best wishes for the future. 

[Sweeper]

Watch for side effects of antiseizure meds. They had my dad on some last year and he wasn't doing well at all. He is 94, but still, watch for any and read up on whatever you're taking. Glad you feel up to working.