Sax withdrawal symptoms ahead too...

[jrintaha]

So I got hospitalized today, hurt my lower back while sledding downhill with my wife and kids. The hill was steep, and there was a bump I didn't notice, and I got thrown off course, slid towards a jump I had absolutely no intention of taking, flew off the sled and landed on my back on a frozen bump in the snow.

Good thing is, I can move my legs and arms, and my kidneys are intact. So it could have been a lot worse. But I cannot stand or sit up, even with the painkillers they gave me, it just hurts too much.

I'll be on sick leave for quite a while, I reckon, so it would be a perfect time to play sax all day, but I guess there's no chance my back will take the weight of the instrument. Gonna be a long couple of weeks...

 

[Justin Chune]

I'm sorry to hear this and hope you get well soon.

Jim.

 

[jrintaha]

Thanks Jim.

I guess this is a good time to think why a grown-up man has to do stupid things like sled downhill when the hill is clearly too steep and halfway frozen.

There's a clearly demented old lady on the opposite bed, and she's been screaming that her son is trying to kill her and her leg is broken (it is not). The orderlies finally tied her down to her bed and gave her sedatives because she punched an orderly, and was tearing off her IV again and again.

Looking at her and all the other people around me, I can't help but think I really have it easy.

 

[kevgermany]

Look on the birght side - it could have been far worse. Hope your wife and kids are OK.

Guess a sop is called for...

I shared a room once with an alcoholic who'd come in to be detoxed. He made so much noise the night nurse came in and started laying into him to keep him quiet. He was mived to a single room the next day... Hope you can move to another room soon.



Really sorry to hear how bad it is. Do what the docs say, we'll be thinking of you!

 

[Di in France]

Ouch, that sounds very painful! I hope you recover quickly.

 

[TimboSax]

Nasty, glad it's not worse though.

I guess this is a good time to think why a grown-up man has to do stupid things like sled downhill when the hill is clearly too steep and halfway frozen.

Because that's what we do, it's in the rules ;}

Take care, keep taking the drugs.

 

[jrintaha]

Look on the birght side - it could have been far worse. Hope your wife and kids are OK.

Guess a sop is called for...

I shared a room once with an alcoholic who'd come in to be detoxed. He made so much noise the night nurse came in and started laying into him to keep him quiet. He was mived to a single room the next day... Hope you can move to another room soon.

It indeed could have been much worse - and I'm thinking much worse wasn't very far away. I could have had the sled between my back and the bump, a much harder and smaller surface, thus more damage. It's also nice to notice help is there when it's needed - my wife's parents (who live something like 70km away), my brother (who smashed his foot and is walking with crutches), and our daughter's godfather all rushed to look after the kids so my wife could bring my laptop, headphones and some food to the hospital.

Here in Finland we have a separate "detox ward" for the alcoholics, because there are so many of them. It's not officially so, but at least in this hospital there's two observation wards, and in this ward are the regular accidents and old folks who are in a bad way, whereas the next ward seems to be full of alcoholics or alcohol-related injuries. A new patient arrived, and the nurse calmly asked what's your name, social security number, and how many days have you been drinking.

Thanks for the sympathies everyone.

 

[llamedos]

Sorry about your troubles - it seems that Finnish hospitals are definitely not fun places to be. Hope you are very soon fit enough to get back home for a bit of peace and quiet. It sounds as though the accordion is out for a wee while as well - have you considered mouth organ as a lightweight diversion?

Get well soon.

Dave

 

[Targa]

Just before you set off down the hill did you remember to quote Kimi Raikkonen.
"Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing."

 

[jazzdoh]

So I got hospitalized today, hurt my lower back while sledding downhill with my wife and kids. The hill was steep, and there was a bump I didn't notice, and I got thrown off course, slid towards a jump I had absolutely no intention of taking, flew off the sled and landed on my back on a frozen bump in the snow.

Good thing is, I can move my legs and arms, and my kidneys are intact. So it could have been a lot worse. But I cannot stand or sit up, even with the painkillers they gave me, it just hurts too much.

I'll be on sick leave for quite a while, I reckon, so it would be a perfect time to play sax all day, but I guess there's no chance my back will take the weight of the instrument. Gonna be a long couple of weeks...

Know exactly how you are feeling,hope you recover soon.

 

[Jeanette]

Sorry to hear of your accident, hope you are back home and on your feet soon.

Jx

 

[jonf]

Just before you set off down the hill did you remember to quote Kimi Raikkonen.
"Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing."

Or that universal male precursor to catastrophe - "watch this"

Get well soon. Although the sax may be out for a while, I'm sure there are other instruments you'll be able to play soon.

Jon

 

[aldevis]

Get well soon.
It sounds like your analysis of the hospital situation is keeping your wit going... or maybe they are just giving you some funny drugs.

I second the soprano theory. I must say I find playing "air saxophone" quite useful, just moving your fingers on the keys. It is great for scales.

BTW, is the son of the lady in your room a drummer?

 

[kevgermany]

I must say I find playing "air saxophone" quite useful, just moving your fingers on the keys. It is great for scales.

Don't do it in front of the staff, they won't understand and the psychiatrists will have a field day... Sectioned is your ultimate destination if you are caught.

BTW, is the son of the lady in your room a drummer?

))

 

[jrintaha]

Got home today. Tried every way possible to play my tenor, to no avail. Wife took a picture of me with her smartphone (big file, sorry): https://dl.dropbox.com/u/23905592/DSC_1736.JPG - I tried to wedge the sax between my knees and some pillows to support the weight - exactly as uncomfortable as it looks. I also tried to play it on my back, but it's so heavy that my right hand started going numb. Needless to say having it hanging on the neck sling like it's supposed to HURTS.

The alto's weight was almost bearable, but I cannot find my single good reed, a Legere 2.5, which is transparent and thus very hard to find. I have a fibracell reed too, but it's too hard to play. All the cane reeds I have for alto are past their date, and none of them play decent.

So if I cannot play sax, I thought I'd grab the guitar and finally take the time to learn the fast part in the middle of 21st Century Schizoid Man. But alas, I cannot sit for long before it starts hurting bad, and if I lie on my back, or am half sitting up, the guitar presses down on the right side of my ribcage, where I happen to have a broken rib. I didn't actually even notice the rib until late last night when I tried to get up from the hospital bed.

So I've delighted my wife with a lot of mouthpiece exercises and out-of-tune ocarina today.

 

[sushidushi]

So I've delighted my wife with a lot of mouthpiece exercises and out-of-tune ocarina today.

Making your poor wife suffer won't make you feel better any more quickly...!

I do hope that you're not incapacitated for too long. As others have said, I'm just glad that it wasn't worse.

 

[zelda]

So I got hospitalized today, hurt my lower back while sledding downhill with my wife and kids. The hill was steep, and there was a bump I didn't notice, and I got thrown off course, slid towards a jump I had absolutely no intention of taking, flew off the sled and landed on my back on a frozen bump in the snow.

Good thing is, I can move my legs and arms, and my kidneys are intact. So it could have been a lot worse. But I cannot stand or sit up, even with the painkillers they gave me, it just hurts too much.

I'll be on sick leave for quite a while, I reckon, so it would be a perfect time to play sax all day, but I guess there's no chance my back will take the weight of the instrument. Gonna be a long couple of weeks...

I was going to post a comment today about risky behaviors we tend to engage in on our own time but would be unacceptable at work. But I reconsidered and decided against it. I didn't want to come across as being smug. Most of my work is at oil refineries and safety is huge. For instance, personal folding and fixed blade knives must be kept in the lunchroom. If we need to cut something, it has to be a company-issued utility knife with a spring-loaded blade which automatically retracts when one lets go of the sliding button. Plus, we have to wear Kevlar gloves. After reading the OP, I went down to the basement where I've been insulating the concrete walls with 1" styrofoam to cut down on heat loss. I was cutting a 1" X 2' X 8' (Building materials are not metric in Canada.) piece to fit with a knife with a 6" blade. No kevlar gloves of course because I know what I'm doing, right? Wrong! I sliced a a thin sliver off my left pinky finger on the outside next to the fingernail. It bled for an hour. My first thought was that it might affect my budding career as a sax player. OP and my origonal intended response came immediately to mind. From now on I'll be wearing cut-proof, thin Kevlar gloves. Sax players need all fingers.

 

[sushidushi]

Ouch! We have to use similar knives (Olfa) at a Canadian Tire distribution centre, and you're certainly right that we tend to do things in our own time that would be unacceptable at work. I do hope you didn't slice too much off your finger.

 

[zelda]

Ouch! We have to use similar knives (Olfa) at a Canadian Tire distribution centre, and you're certainly right that we tend to do things in our own time that would be unacceptable at work. I do hope you didn't slice too much off your finger.

I'm gonna live. How much did I slice off? Just enough to smarten me up and get rid of some of that know-it-all attitude thet I'm usually quick to accuse others of having.

 

[sushidushi]

It might have worked out for the best then. Better to learn from a minor injury than something more severe...