With apologies to the late Gene Autry, I am back in the saddle once again to irritate, underwhelm, bore and provide “scintillating” posts on this blog. Well, eventually I will. I’m still in the recovery stage. Four days in the hospital was a misery I can’t really express in mere words. Back surgery is something one should never experience more than once in a lifetime. I have now experienced it twice. I thought I knew what to expect this time. But, 13 years later, things are done a bit differently. I thought I would be waiting and waiting on my surgery time once I checked in and was prepped by 9AM. At 9:20AM I was whisked away to the OR. No time to reflect or worry. I did get a good dose of Demerol. So, I really didn’t care if they performed five back surgeries on me. Back in ’95, nurses were driving me crazy about breathing that oxygen they had me on prior to surgery. This time, not so much. I have no idea why. Also, this time they took enough blood from me to attract vampires. Just some subtle, yet, noticeable differences.

There is a lot more I will say about my time in the hospital in the coming days. You’ll have to cringe when you see me post something about my back surgery. It is a major surgery. That was made clear to me prior to going in to the prep area. I won’t elaborate on that right now. One thing I do want to say before I close out this entry and take some Lortab tablets; Sister Martha was a saint. I’m not Catholic. I only mention that due to my surgery at a Catholic hospital. But, when I was in the depths of pain and despair, Sister Martha came to me out of the blue to pray for me. She couldn’t have been more than 4’10 and maybe 85lbs. But, she was a giant to me over the past week. Even when family left, she stayed with me and continually prayed for me late into the night. Thank God for her. I mean that.

Also, before I forget, I want to thank my friend Jeff for keeping track of this blog for me. Thanks Jeff…I’m sure you’ll understand why I will now change my password…ehehehe. I’ll post more later. Right now, it’s time for a Lortab moment.