Dame Tuckaberry's Musings

 

In case you're planning on attending any of THIS , I made these:


 and you can buy them HERE.

Happy pride, everyone!

Saw neurosurgeon #3 today.  He's my favorite, and will be the one I go to if the time comes, which he said he kind of thinks it probably will.  He echoed number two, marveling at the fact that I can even walk, much less work.  "You have clever nerves" he says. He also marveled at the enormity of my herniation.  It's starting to get a complex about its size.  I asked him to give me a really compelling argument not to operate electively.  And he did.  Paraphrasing: "I've seen it happen--granted, not on herniations as big as yours--where that tissue shrinks back and becomes absorbed by the body.  As long as you're getting better, as long as the weakness in your leg is mild, as long as you don't experience any of the emergency symptoms (foot drop, incontinence), we need to hold out hope that this can happen for you."  

Okay.  When you put it that way, I get it.  Also, apparently, surgery does weaken the spine slightly.  Pretty compelling side note.

We discussed future baby.  "Get an MRI before you start trying to get pregnant" he says.  If the herniation is still the same, we need to talk about surgery again.  No matter what happens, he says I should probably elect cesarian birth, as natural birth would be enough to cause more serious damage to the blown disc as well as the bulging one and the ones which look dehydrated and iffy.  And while it's not ideal, pregnancy at any stage does not contra-indicate anesthesia and spinal surgery if necessary, or another MRI.

I am amazed at how not afraid of the future I am any more.  I feel like I have all my plans, my backup plans, and my backup backup plans in place.  And you know, when you make plans nothing ever goes wrong.  But they do make you feel better about the unsure.  Plans, that is.  Make you feel better.  Well, they do me.

So I feel pretty good.  I don't know how the nerves find their way around that blob, but whatever.  If it works, don't fix it.  And if it stops working, we'll deal with it.  Now I have three neurosurgeons who know me and have my insurance information.  I've got doctors in two boroughs and I can schedule surgery within a matter of days if the time comes.  In the meantime, I'm cleared to begin gentle excercise (hold off on the climbing, and I think the boxing gloves will need to be permanently hung up) and can go about life like before.  Well, not like before.  Because I've got to go about it differently to stay well.  

So I can go about life...anew.  

For now.  

And that's okay.

 

 Figured out how to export the slides from the CD rom to my computer.

So here's what the inside of me looks like.



Yes, the spinal column is  INSIDE the spine, but the nerves come out in shoots at each vertebrae on either side of the ligament that keeps the spine together in back and front. 

Look, at least it's not a fetus.  You can look forward to that sonogram blog in about a year and a half.

Met the second neurosurgeon yesterday, and followed up with number one.  (Both named Cohen.  As one of the managers at work said: "Good.  A nice Jewish boy.")

I'm responding very, very well to conservative treatment.  Conventional wisdom and protocol say that when a patient responds well to conservative treatment, surgery is not necessary or wise.  Both surgeons agree on this, and they both say that as long as I'm improving, we should hold off.

However, that being said:  they both agree that I am a good candidate for surgery.  They both marveled at the enormity of my herniation (7.5 out of 10) and Cohen number two stated: "You look a lot better than your imaging.  Based on this MRI I expected to see someone in much worse shape, with pain and numbness on both sides."  I told him he should have seen me a few weeks ago.

So here's what makes all of this so difficult:  If I don't get the surgery, my chances of another flare-up (it's a foregone conclusion that it will be worse each time) are better than 50%.  If I do get the surgery, chances of another flare-up are about 5%.  And if I wait until another flare-up to do it, the success rate drops.  And what if said flare-up occurs when I've gone and gotten myself pregnant?  Can't do a cortisone shot then.  BUT.  If I get surgery, my recovery from this episode will be much longer.  I'll be out of work for a month.  If I continue to improve and gain strength with conservative treatment, I could feasibly be climbing in time for the end of the summer season outings.  If I get the surgery, no climbing till 2009. 

Not that climbing is my main motivation to improve, but it's a good marker of wellness.  "Well enough to climb" is as good as it gets.

So what to do?  Once you choose to cut, you can't go back.  But the numbers do look better on the surgery side.  I thought that by doing gobs and gobs of research, I'd feel empowered and capable of making this decision.  But case studies and randomized studies tell nothing useful.  This condition is too varied from case to case.  And mine is not an obvious choice.
 

I made this for Marleah's birthday at her behest.  And I feel like sharing her gift with the staggering masses who read this blog.



Happy birthday, Marleah.

When you're the kind of person who's not used to having any kind of healthy energy flow, suddenly setting all the qi-a-flowing actually will make you motion sick.

So if you're a generally nervous, uptight, circulatorily-challenged type and think that acupuncture is a good idea, you're probably right.

I just recommend not eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich two hours prior.

I didn't barf.  But I did have to have all the needles quickly pulled out and lie on my side for a few minutes.

I'm going back on Friday.  Good times.

Still hurty.  Seeing more doctors than I ever have in my life.  Spending literally hundreds of dollars on cab fare and even more on acupuncture (not covered by Oxford unless you have cancer)  Still can't walk a block (with the exception of Wednesday evening, when I miraculously managed to go for THREE whole blocks!) 

Good times.

 

In the enchanted Forest of Fables, it seems everyone learns their lessons the hard way. An unlikely pair of friends, Fox and Donkey, search the land for an elusive "happy ending" amidst a cast of bumbling humans, snooty scavengers, and terrified bunnies. Along the way, the heroes learn about trust, friendship, and the secret of enduring happiness through song, antic wordplay, and big-band swing.

 Saturdays, March 29, April 5 and April 12 at 1:00 and 3:00 P.M.

Sundays, March 30 and April 6 at 3:00 P.M.

At the Impact Theater, 190 Underhill Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

 Click HERE for a map

 Tickets for these performances are:

$10 for adults, $7 for children (12 and under) and FREE for children 3 and under

 

So I finally saw Enchanted.  And I gotta say, it lived down to my expectations.  It wasn't awful.  But I did remark to my feverish husband (after the CGI vermin apartment-cleansing scene) "I'm still waiting for this movie to win me over."  Because it was sort of falling right into the live-action Disney traps of weak script, cheap cinematography and (with the exception of the formidable Amy Adams) so-so acting (including and especially from Patrick Dempsey, whose fame continues to baffle me.)  Then came the Central Park scene--that fabulous full-on production number complete with Mariachi and steel drum bands.  If I had only seen from that point to the ballroom scene, I would have said that this was a good movie. Those middle 20 minutes were pretty precious in spite of Schwartz's Schwartzy lyrics and the aforementioned pitfalls; the film was suddenly earnest and fresh and creative.  And then there was the dragon. The awful, embarrasing dragon.   And my smile turned back to a scowl and I mourned.  

Because when you get right down to it, I loved, loved, loved the old Disney cartoons.  And if you're going to do a sendup farce/homage to your own body of work it had better be as good as if not better than Cinderella/SnowWhite/LittleMermaid/SleepingBeauty/Alladin, etc.  This was barely better than the remake of The Parent Trap.  Sorry.  Disney's standards have slumped, and were it not for Pixar I would say it was time to put them and Elton John out to pasture.  What would I do without Brad Bird to keep alive my favorite brainwashing brand?

Sigh.

The climbing gym! 

The climbing gym! 

The climbing gym! 

The climbing gym!  

So...yeah.  I'll be going after church.

 

It's that time again--our spring show is in rehearsals and it's going to be FANTASTIC!  Talking donkeys and jogging tortoises, dancing foxes and singing crows--

"Skip the expensive Disney Musicals!"  (Broadwayworld.com)

 

Aesop's Foibles: Performances at the Impact Theater:

Saturdays, March 29, April 5 and April 12 at 1:00 and 3:00 P.M.

Sundays, March 30 and April 6 at 3:00 P.M.

Tickets for these performances are:

$10 for adults, $7 for children (12 and under) and FREE for children 3 and under

Buy tickets online HERE

So, Saturday night, Tuckaberry helped the Impact Theater host a fundraiser.  The theme was 'Winter's Warmth.'



Hence the candles.



Aaron won the tournament.



Adam announced stuff



Rob sang.

And we all imbibed freely.

But more importantly, people showed up.  A lot of people.  People whose faces I didn't recognize, whose names I didn't know.  They also imbibed freely, which meant that they enjoyed the entertainment, and I learned how to make a balloon 'sword.'  And most importantly, we had so, so much fun.  We managed to gussy up the theater basement enough so that in dim lighting, it looked almost ambient.  Everyone gave splendid performances, and (though we still have yet to crunch the numbers) we definitely came out in the black, which is better than we can say for our last benefit event.  I am actually excited about hosting more events like this in the Impact, and it's given me newfound motivation to resume cleansing/renovating the downstairs and backyard (once the weather warms.)  

Serious props to all the Tuckaberries who helped out, to all the friends who came out, and to all the new friends we made this weekend.  Thank you all.  Thank you all.  Thank you all.

I can't wait to do it again!  How's September?

Please join Tuckaberry Productions on January 19 at 8:00 PM for "Winter's Warmth," this year's joint cabaret fundraiser (for grownups) with the Impact Theater.

 

There will be:

live music!!

comedy!!

(possibly) balloon animals!!

libation and refreshments!!

raffles!!

silent auction!!

poker!!

 

 

Tickets are $15.00

OR 

$10.00 (if you bring a beverage or snack to share)

  

(cash at the door is also perfectly acceptable.)

 

This is not a question you want to have to answer five minutes before your final show.  Betwixt firefighters in full regalia, an exploding light board, circular saws, padlocked buildings, winter weather and an impeded final dress rehearsal, I and my cohorts managed to get through this weekend alive and relatively unscathed.

Tuckaberry performed its first ever comissioned, PAID gig at the Kingsboro temple, and while it was far from perfect (owing in no small part to the padlocked building/impeded dress rehearsal) it was far from terrible.  The wassail was a hit (although a bit did get on my tongue and I didn't have to work very hard to act disgusted) and Aaron made a fabulous hula dancer.  Despite some hectic tempos, botched entrances and flubbed lyrics (mostly on my part), we pulled off a fun show and were pleasantly surprised to find that the audience really, really enjoyed it.   The pastor and the Adventurers club have expressed enthusiastic interest in hiring us again, so we must have done something right.

To see us do something right again, click HERE and come see  encore performances of A Very Tuckaberry Christmas at the Impact Theater!

Midsummer closed terrifically, complete with a burning lightboard crisis (brilliantly averted by our fearless director) and an evening preshow by New York's Finest, thanks to a phone call reporting smoke in the next door building.  No one was hurt, and as far as we know there was no fire (other than the one we had in the booth at 2PM) but the audience got to witness fifteen minutes of very handsome firemen in full uniform bearing harpoons tramping through the theater and out the back.  How do you follow an act like that?  The final show was fantastic, as was the party which kept me awake far, far past my bed time.

This week will mark the end of the most overextended month of my life so far, and I hope never again to be asked by a child whether or not I'm Hillary Clinton.   Can Hillary Clinton sing while making wassail?  I think not.

I had no idea that any kind of a reviewer had attended our show.

We would have totally comped her ticket if we knew she'd write THIS.

Seriously, you guys.  It's a good show.