Back to the bench

Although the recovery took much longer than expected (primarily due to the fact that, once the surgeons got into the area to do the laminectomy they discovered that the bone spurs had actually punctured the nerve and caused a spinal fluid leak), I was able to come home on - when else - Friday the 13th. 

The leak caused a somewhat treacherous condition called a spinal headache, due to a drop in spinal fluid pressure. Look that up. It is every bit as ghastly an experience as they say. I seem to have a fairly high pain tolerance, but that took me right to the edge. Like people sticking icepicks into the back of your head at random 10-20 second intervals. The course of treatment is basically lay flat on your back til it goes away, and then gradually raise the incline until you can sit on the side of the bed and then do some walking without pain. That took 2 extra days; not what you want to hear as a patient who wants to go home and sleep in his own bed! 

I'm doing much better now. Still sore, but they gave me enough painkillers (and strong enough ones) to cope with the situation. I'm truly grateful, in an age where opioids are viewed with caution by docs, even for patients who need them. 

I even felt good enough tonight to spend some time on the bench. I got things organized for the next paint session and did some construction. I masked the canopy of the Ffrom Delta, did some seam repair on the latest (Italian) Eurofighter, and completed construction of the cockpit for the MikroMir Aerovan. I also got some bits together for the Daimler armored car from Hasegawa. 

There is a lot of work in the paint queue, but I should be able to showcase a couple of completions in the next week or so. Best news of all, it appears that in the absence of some sort of relapse I should be able to attend the IPMS-Seattle Spring Show this Saturday. I've been going to that show for something like 23 years straight, and have been fully documenting the 1:72 categories for 10 years. That was a streak I didn't want to break. I may be floating around on exotic painkillers and using a cane, but it is a good enough show that I really didn't want to miss it.