[BILLY D.]

hey guys, i'm the prince of bad backs. i had 5 herniated discs. if i even broke wind the wrong way i got back spasms. my spinal nerves were being pushed out of the spinal column and placed pressure on the sciatic nerve.

$48,000 worth of surgery and having 2 of my vertibrae fused together, i'm as good as new.................almost. iv'e had two more spasms since then, but they are not as painful as they used to be.

one interesting thing is all my spasms previously were on the left side of my back. now they are on the right side. they are also not as painful and intense as they were. the last one i had was when i was doing some really strenous work out in the garage. i bought one of those shelves with lots of drawers for nuts , bolts and all the other gizwickets we use and was sorting out bolts and sneezed. next thing i know im face first on the floor. tried to stand up and when i did get up i was bent at a 45* angle from the waist up. back to the doc. a morphine shot and a bottle of pain killers and i went back home.

ever since the operation my left leg between the hip and knee feels like it just left the dentists office after a root canal. that prickly numb feeling. it doesn't affect the muscle though. i can still walk, run and still play with the neighbor kids. so i feel fortunate in a way. lots of folks my age can't do half the things that i can still do so i thank god for every day.

sorry i got soooo long winded, just isn't another way to explain it in a shorter verse.

oh, and cal, iv'e talked to other folks who have had thes type operations and some of them said it took two to three years before they started to feel right again. so....don't give up hope. i'm not.