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[Borodin]

I'm back, and will be checking in, occasionally.

Why was I gone? You see, a funny thing happened while I was in a hospital, getting four neck discs replaced. The funny thing was, I got four neck discs replaced. They were very badly chipped and actually fragmenting one another, and the shards were also poking at the nerve cluster at the back of my neck. When the neuro-surgeon I visited saw these on the MRI and xrays, he squeezed an operation in ASAP.

It's called an anterior cervical fusion. And because the titanium rod they put in place to hold the new, growing bone grafts was so long, it started to bend, ironically recreating the pain it was supposed to cure. Fortunately, the bone grafts had already taken hold. But between pain and painkillers, it wasn't any fun.

And I don't recommend this to anybody looking for a new experience.

On the positive side, things could have been much worse. The old discs could have already caused significant damage to that nerve cluster, causing paralysis. Or I might have no insurance; or no caring, loving wife to help me through this.

There's still a lot of recovery ahead, but the worst is behind. So, in short...I'm back.