Well, this cracker can write. The back and leg are up to 4-6 hours a day of sitting. The eye, not so much. In the middle of a bad eye episode right now, I write with my glasses on over the eye patch.

Since the June 5th, 2023 injury, which might have been a voodoo curse placed upon me by the crippled Haitian at Hamilton and Harford who I bought a bottle of water from on the 8th, I found myself by Friday the 9th at this floor:

Lifting capacity: 5th of whiskey, unable to lift a handle.

Hauling capacity: had to move cans of beer or botles of water by placing them in my lap and scooting across the floor, dragging my legs with arms.

Movement: crawling, monkey climbing stairs, scooting. Movement increased to walker, to crutches, to cane over three months.

Could not train, fight, write or work,not even writing.

Therapy Exercises:

Crunches were at 3 by September 1, 1 set.

Full flexibility was achieved at about that time. The fact I had 100% flexibility before injury was clutch in rehab.

I did hours a day of assisted leg motions while prone, moving my knees and hips with my arms. I still do these as warm ups.

Here are my last two days of activity:

I can now extend a gallon in my hand without spraining the lumbar.

I move 3 wheel barrows of fire wood a day and can push a full shopping cart, but have trouble turning and cannot pull more than a dresser drawer. I can split wood with an ax but not fell or saw, and cannot pull the cord on the gas generator. Without the woodstove, I would have died two weeks ago.

Training

Daily

2 hours prone, traction mobility and flexibility

30 minutes upright flexibility, leg strengthening and lumbar stacking

30 minutes seated shoulder mobility and stretches and lumbar traction

30 minutes of limping [this maxes out the leg is sometimes done with crutches, cane, walking stick or freestyle. Walking with a shopping cart in front is good therapy as I have a hard time keeping from falling forward over the right leg. I have no breaking or pivoting ability with that leg. I have maxed out the nerve meds and can’t push this any more.

Day 1

10 pound dumbell, one, all I have

6 sets of curls, lying with arm hanging over bed for 10 to 30 reps a set.

3 10 minute sets of pull overs for maybe 500 reps total

3 sets of seated tricep presses, 10 to 20 reps

2 sets of prone two handed tricep presses

2 10 minute sets of prone slow punches, like punching up off the floor while mounted, for about 300 dumbell punch presses

Day 2

4 sets of crunches: 40, 40, 30, 20 [yesterday, which was pushing it and had pushed the lumbar close to a sprain]

4 sets of knee raises, very careful, uncounted

2 sets of rocking leg raises, throwing the knees to face and feat over edge of bed

40 minutes of shadow boxing

I can box defensively southpaw and offensively from a left lead

I cannot do any weapon foot work, am unstable walking, cannot walk up and down stairs. A 5% grade is a challenge going up. There has been no improvement in the injury to the femoral nerve on the right, and the one on the left is showing symptoms. The left knee is in distress. Building the upper body is over loading the legs.

Can move with crutches in a light back back.

Am at high risk of back sprain and starting to work the obliques carefully.

Am interested in Doc Dread Xraying lumbar again. I think I have decompressed the spine on the right side.

I cannot do any standing yoga exercises, still, only three prone and one seated.

The nerve medicine has degraded my mental acuity by 30% and my eye hand coordination and timing, for kitchen tasks, by 50%. My blood pressure is so low that I can drink 2 pots of coffee and still go to sleep.

I sleep a lot, 9 to 12 hours.

The two biggest nerves in my body are pinched in the groin, one severely and also twisted and stretched. This injury is rare and usually caused during the course of hip replacement surgery. The abdominal surgeon told me that such groin pain in older men mimicking hernia symptoms is typically related to hip distress.

My goal now, is to drop 20 pounds in hopes of taking stress off the legs. At injury I was 154. In July I was 139. I am now 165. I have picked up what seems to be 11 pounds of fat, as the additional muscle in my upper body is offset by the loss of half the mass in the right leg. The problem is my inability to burn calories. When I leave here in a weak and no longer have access to weights and all this high protein free food, I plan on fasting 3 days a week and hitting the bags at the MMA gym twice a week to get down to 145.

When I hit Pittsburgh, Guru Rick plans on taking me to the Powerhouse Gym and seeing what weight machines I can use. Then, once I hit the Brickmouse House about April 10, I will have access to punching bags and light weights.

Thank you all so much for your concern.

I have been asked if I will fight again. The only thing I could do is box. I can spar. I’ll only fight if the challenger is crippled or if Mister Saffrano wants a hands of mud rematch.

James, Cedar Mountain, Washington