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Turkey Season in Jeopardy for Third Year in a Row.......

TN Larry

TN Larry

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I'm not looking for any sympathy, but man this is getting old. My turkey season ended early two years ago after breaking my leg and tearing tendons/ligaments in my foot while turkey hunting. Last year about this time, I had to have my third surgery to free up scar tissue and had to miss juvenile and opening weekend. My son and I did get revenge as I killed 4 birds, and he killed his first so no complaints there after getting started late.

Well, my back has been bothering me some for the last month or so but not enough to really bother me on doing normal things. It was just enough to be aggravating and limit me a little on what I could do. It's still all related to my break and compensating so long on how I was trying to walk. I've been to physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medicine, and steroids without much help. About three weeks ago, I slipped while walking up a hill and pulled something that made it even worse. Last Monday, I could barely walk and went to the doctor again. I had an MRI and found out that I have a bulged disc which is pressing on the spinal cord in that area causing it to narrow and put pressure on a nerve which explains the pain in my leg, hip, and some numbness in my foot. This week is a little better, but I still can't do anything. I get to see a neurosurgeon in two weeks to find out next steps. :bash:

So again for the third year in a row, the extent of my turkey hunting is unknown. I was so looking forward to this year as my son did well last year at 8 and should be able to run and gun no problem this year at 9 which is my style of hunting and super fired up about turkey season.

Just be careful out there as my break was a freak thing and still coming back to haunt me. That is one turkey that I wished that I would have never heard gobble. Oh well, I am trying to stay positive as it could be worse.
 
Wow man, I hope they get you straightened out soon.

I do remember you breaking your leg and the recovery difficulties.

Remind us again exactly how the break occurred.
 
Yeah didn't u post pics of it broke?

Hope u get better soon man.
 
PalsPal":1oimuxh2 said:
Wow man, I hope they get you straightened out soon.

I do remember you breaking your leg and the recovery difficulties.

Remind us again exactly how the break occurred.
Click to expand...

It was really a freak thing that I've thought a hundred times on what I would do differently. I was on the lake practicing for a tournament while a crow flew over and a turkey gobbled to it about 11 that day. I hooted, and he responded. I hooted again, and he responded. I was catching fish and didn't need to chase a turkey but couldn't help myself as I did have my gun and turkey stuff with me, and he was hot and sounded suicidal at the time. So, I parked the boat and took off after him. I got set up on him about 80 yards as it was green and pretty thick where I was at. He wouldn't budge but would gobble at every sound, and I could hear him spitting and drumming. I made a very aggressive move on him since I needed to be still practicing for a tournament and got him to come look at about 40 yards. I shot, and he went to flopping over the hill as it was a steep hillside. I jumped up to see if it was a death flop or needed a follow up. I was going to run over the hill about 10 yards to see. When I planted my first step with my left foot, I broke my fibula bone in my left leg down near the ankle. The problem is that I didn't know that I had broke it. I felt a sting like a sprain but thought I had just turned it as the feeling started coming back. So still pumped on adrenaline, I kept going. Three steps later, I tore all the tendons and ligaments in my ankle. My foot basically turned on its side and touched my ankle. I knew then that I was hurt pretty bad.

To make a long story short, I had a cousin on the lake that came and helped me out. I crawled about 250 yards to the boat as he carried my gun and turkey. I did get him by the way. :) He helped me in the boat, drove me to the ramp, and got my boat on the trailer. He helped me get in my truck, and I drove to my parent's house which was close. My dad took me to an urgent care place who then sent me to the hospital, and I had to have surgery that night to put a plate and screws in and to repair the tendon/ligament damage. I spent the night in the hospital that night. I have went through a lot of physical therapy and two surgeries since. One was to remove two screws that were supposed to break and give me more movement, and the other was to remove scar tissue.

It's been a long road but again could be worse. There is one postivie though. I was off work for two weeks when I first broke it and basically couldn't do anything so I stayed with my mom those two weeks. She babied me and took me to the doctor a couple of times. She passed away that December with cancer that we didn't know anything about until September so those two weeks became very important to me as I was super close to her. She was the 2nd person that I called after I broke my leg that day while in the woods to get in touch with my Dad and to get my cousin's phone number that I had seen down there earlier. She was crying as her "baby" was hurt which made it hard for me to stay positive and get myself out of there without panicking.

Sorry for the long story but that is it in a nutshell............ What did I do wrong? I still can't come up with what I would have done different as it was just a freak thing in how I planted on that first step. Obviously, I should have kept myself fishing and not chasing turkeys or sat down and not moved as soon as I broke it, but other than that, I've got nothing.........
 
TreyB":3mu8altn said:
Yeah didn't u post pics of it broke?

Hope u get better soon man.
Click to expand...

Here's a quick picture that I could find of the right side of the leg. I had 6 staples on that side. The left side looked worse as that is where the plate and screws went. I had 12 staples on that side.

The funny part is that I didn't even know that I had the 12 staples on the left side until I went to the doctor two weeks later to get them removed and fitted for a boot. During my first visit which was a couple days after the surgery, I could only see the staples on the right side as I couldn't turn my ankle to see the left side. I had understood the doctor to say that the large incision would be on the right side which didn't make sense as it was broken on the left side. Well when I rolled in to get the staples removed, I had been dreading getting those 6 removed for a day. Boy was I shocked when they took everything off and I was able to see the left side which had 12 more staples. :)
 
I can relate...twice! Pain is no fun. My leg healed fine after the first break. My hip healed as good as it appears it's going to after the second break. After the break it sounds like you "altered" your step which puts undue pressure on the off side. Hopefully they can fix you up because that altering can do as much or more damage than the original break. I just have to live with some pain when walking but it's something you don't get used to.
 
I hate that for you. I know from your pics you really enjoy hunting with your kids! It's amazing how easy it is for us to get hurt sometimes. Hopefully next season you will be much better.
 
Larry, just some advice from somebody thats suffered from back pain in the past. Find yourself a good back Orthapedic before the neurosurgeon. Ive had several bad spells but two put me bed ridden for 3 weeks plus. Even carried out of the woods. I refused pain meds cause they scare the crap out of me. The doctor assigned me to physical therapy for the same diagnosis as yours in my L4,L5, and S1. Willing to try anything at this point they had me do some certain stretches then a deep tissue message finishing up on a traction table. Its the same principle as a inversion table only safer and you build up to the weight of the pull. You attach this harness around your upper torso and the straps attach to a computer weighted pulley system and it pulls the required alignment back in your spine and disc. The first couple times will make you doubt the whole thing and will leave you sore but after the 3rd is when you'll really notice an improvement. My first severe spell was 2012 and another in 2014 and as scared as I hate typing this I will swear I have been pain free since then. We all have heard too many horror stories on back surgeries thats not relieved the pain or made it worse. I would only consider that after you've weighed all your options. Hope this helps.

If you aint better I'd be happy to drive up and take Wesley out. I miss the little booger. He still gets asked about quite a bit by my little man.
 
Thanks John. Surgery will be my last possible option after everything else is exhausted. The doctor that I'm going to is not a surgery pusher. I have already been to physical therapy, but that was before the MRI. There is no guessing now. I may go by and see my PT next week to see what he thinks. If not, I'm gonna ask the doc to send me to the best back PT in the area and see what happens.
 
Don't know if this is something you'd be interested in, as it's not really going to fix the pain quickly. Stuart McGill is a renowned spine researcher and has published several books about his research. There is one he has posted for regular guys and girls called Back Mechanic. It's got great information about common causes of back pain and steps you can take to help reduce your pain. I bought it because I read a lot of his research during grad school and it's a good book. I'd at least check it out on amazon. May help reduce pain symptoms, but I'd bet it would really be more for helping you out for next season.

Sorry I can't help with something more immediate. The traction table is sound advice, and a good physical therapist that specializes in ortho would also be a good idea. Core strengthening (with what McGill calls his "Big 3") would help you as well. If you haven't looked into foam rolling, it can help as well. If that doesn't really pinpoint your pain, you can look into using a tennis ball (and building up to a lacrosse ball). However, the best advice would be to see a well respected PT first, and if that doesn't help see an ortho doctor.
 

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