A speedy recovery man. Sounds like you've got lots of good projects to do during your down time.

Tomorrow I'll under go the clavicle surgery. I'll lose access to my right arm for tying for about 6-8 weeks. My left hand has become too hard to type with due to my cast sticking way out. My brother Michael Lewis will probably help me type for the next three weeks. At the end of this month I should get the pins removed in my left hand. I'll then have my not as good hand for typing when the time comes. I'm still staying positive. YouTube and such will be a great side kick during these times. Don't worry, TV is still black listed from using any of my time.

No access to yer right hand eh? Pity Bryan Benn isn't around at the moment. He knows people who know people.

No offence mate, but I won't be rooting for you or pulling for you.

Yikes! Best wishes, hope you're 100% ASAP!

Clavicle surgery went well. Had 8 screws placed in with a plate. Found out that my spine compression was worse than I originally thought. Went from being average height to being short. I don't mind that so much except that it might have some serious consequences on my back/neck in the future. At least the pain isn't so bad so far, pain meds are keeping me dizzy. And again, I feel quite fortunate to make it out of the ordeal alive.

I am only down to a single finger on one hand which will make typing a lot harder. Especially with the cast getting in the way with that hand. My brother should aid me on this at times.

I wouldn't be too pessimistic about the spine, Josh. A mate of mine just got out of surgery for that. According to him, it was a bit like being placed on a medieval torture rack and then they pumped resin and stuff in the gaps while they had him stretched out. (With anaesthetic, of course). Dr Pelado can prolly explain more, er, professionally.

She'll be right, mate.

Hang in there, Josh. Though it sounds like a speedy recovery isn't on the cards, I sure hope it will be a full one, eventually.

Having artificial disks put into place isn't too bad, and its a whole lot better than the referring pain from the crushed nerves. I was lucky that the surgery did away with my pain (except the first 12 hours after surgery I thought I had made the worst mistake but after that I knew it was the only thing I could have done). good luck

My back is still a mystery, I've had too many noses of radiation so I gotta wait a little over a week to get that looked into. My neck has been popping less which is great! My pinky might be worse than I originally thought, to be continued on that end. Eventually I plan on putting up a bunch of cool stuff on SP when I'm well enough. I'm not just behind on stories, I'm behind on writing epics.

I had a short spell earlier this week of having a deep regret for living the climbing life. But that has pasted and I am craving adventure. I did some to the conclusion that I should climb less, but pretty much always do cool stuff when I'm out. When I say less I'm talking once a week during summer. It's not just because of all the accidents I've seen, but I have to take the skin cancer deal seriously. I'd go as far as to say the skin deal is the number one reason I've come to this conclusion. Don't worry, I'll still be fun.

Josh Lewis wrote:My back is still a mystery, I've had too many noses of radiation so I gotta wait a little over a week to get that looked into. My neck has been popping less which is great! My pinky might be worse than I originally thought, to be continued on that end. Eventually I plan on putting up a bunch of cool stuff on SP when I'm well enough. I'm not just behind on stories, I'm behind on writing epics.

I had a short spell earlier this week of having a deep regret for living the climbing life. But that has pasted and I am craving adventure. I did some to the conclusion that I should climb less, but pretty much always do cool stuff when I'm out. When I say less I'm talking once a week during summer. It's not just because of all the accidents I've seen, but I have to take the skin cancer deal seriously. I'd go as far as to say the skin deal is the number one reason I've come to this conclusion. Don't worry, I'll still be fun.

That's why I climb in pants, long sleeves, sunscreen, SPF 30 brimmed hat, and sunglasses. People laugh but I look young for a 37 yr old. Good luck on your recovery!

WyomingSummits wrote:That's why I climb in pants, long sleeves, sunscreen, SPF 30 brimmed hat, and sunglasses. People laugh but I look young for a 37 yr old.

I over heat easy. I've had this issue sine I was very young. Hats make me crazy itchy, same goes for helmets which is why I didn't wear one before the accident. Even in winter I don't wear hats. Trust me, I'd love to wear them. SPF 30? That's going easy. I use at least SPF 50 minimum. I apply several layers per day. Some days I put on only 3-4 thick layers and still get scorched when it's not super snowy. I rub it in very good and load it up. I put so much on, people wonder why "I'm wasting it". At the end of the day it usually ends up being barely enough. My brother who does not over heat easy completely covers his entire body from head to toe and still gets burned. I tell him "tisk tisk, you should have put on layers of sunscreen under those clothes". At the end of the day I don't let what I'm born with dictate my future. Or at least I try.

"The moon is high ...
I'm working through the night;
Will somebody tell me ...
Where do all the hours go?

Well, it don't stop ....
No, it's never gonna stop!
Why do I have to wear so many things on my head ?
HATS!
One day I'm a mother,
One day I'm a lover;
What am I supposed to do?

HATS !!!



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JmQLJ-zVYg[/youtube]

Josh,
Folks at Summitpost haven't heard from you for awhile. Hope you are improving each and every day. Give us an update on your progress when you have time. All the best to you!
Scott

I was going to write the story yesterday (it's partially written) but because my brother recently broke his lower back he urgently needed my help through out much of yesterday. This took place after my physical therapy session. Now I have both hands, so I should be able to get the trip report out soon.

As for the status of my recovery. I recently got out of a sling (last week) and just before that got out of a cast. I went from a few fingers to most of my fingers which is quite nice. My pinky is still pretty messed up, I've gained some mobility in it. It still has a long ways from being normal, and probably will never be normal. I'm just hoping that I can work it enough so that it doesn't get amputated. My hand specialist threw that one on the table which scared me. While there was lots of boredom and a little bit of depression put in the mix, over all I'm doing better. Web site work is keeping me busy. Still trying to make one of the coolest mountaineering resources which is a lot of work.

I finally got around to writing the story of my climbing accident: http://www.joshlew.com/i-have-fallen