cyn,

i like to fool around, probably a little too much. it gets me into trouble all the time! as you know facetiousness can be easily taken for sarcasm and that can be misconstrued as hurtful. or heck, it can be just plain hurtful (who am i trying to kidl?). i grew up in an extremely sarcastic family; zingers flying constantly and you had to learn how to defend yourself or you were down for the count. not such a good survival tool for me as an adult, i'm finding. very alienating, in fact.

it's something i'm working on. but it comes out all the time.

a couple of things. first of all, i did not mean to imply that my case was worse than anyone else's here just because it has been going on for so long, or took so many years to diagnose. to me, we are all in this thing together. i do want to be clear about that. i am sorry if anything i said sounded like i was trying to play that "one-up" game - i hate that, too!

the other thing is more important and has to do with the case at hand. since this young athlete does NOT have vascular TOS, according to reported accounts, but neurogenic, or primarily neurogenic TOS has stricken him, and as we all know this form is much, much harder to tx and does not respond nearly as favorably nor recover as rapidly to surgical intervention as the vascular TOS cases do... well i hate to say this, but i just don't see him getting back into the game in no three-months' time, cyn! sure, his surgeon has probably promised him that, but they always, always minimize things, don't they. i hope i'm wrong. but those nerves grow back very, very slowly don't they.

the other thing is, in my own personal opinion (and i have both neuro and vascular sx, like a lot of us do and i think you do, too), the nerve pain is the worst. just the worst! even the very rich and the very young cannot escape, would that it were so....

so all kidding aside, and i know you, cyn, and i know you would be the first to join me in this, i hope that the very top TOS surgeons (which i am sure the young man has at least two of!) will open him up and find a clear cause for what's causing the nerve compression, and remove it plus any anomalous myofascial tissue, etc. compounding the problem, perform the necessary neurolysis, lysis quickly and begone!

but then begins the real work, the post-op PT and OT, which again i presume will be first-rate and TOS-savvy. and that is as it should be, and can only help our cause in the end, for it serves both to educate the medical community and to raise the level of public awareness when something as painful and dramatic as this strikes down one of our young american heroes.

let's hope his ordeal is brief. but i for one do not kid myself; he's in for some painful nerve regenerative processes that no one among us can avoid no matter how superlative the care. muscles need to be rebalances before any real strengthening can begin; many of us learned that lesson the hard way - as did our well-meaning therapists.

does that mean i'm not totally envious of the kid myself? oh, hell-o, no! i'm as guilty of that as the next, believe me. i'm awatchin' with interest, kid! (the one in back, green around the gills with envy )...

but i also feel for dude. and am rooting for him, just like i know you guys are.
curious, too, about how a human body in tip-top shape, young, strong and with a timely dx and the best medical care available to western medical science in this day and age, will be able to respond to a foe as mighty as TOS! if he is able to get back out onto the playing field in the year 2007 i think that will be totally awesome!

it is said that all of the big advances are coming out of sports medicine and rehab/PT - for a reason. that's where the money is; follow 'de money! how sad is that? but it makes sense, doesn't it? it is when these highly paid, highly motivated athletes become injured that action gets taken, promoters, owners, advertisers, gamblers and god knows who else put their $ where their mouth is and necessary funds become miraculously available for scientific and medical RESEARCH to be done, forget about getting any particular individual shining star the immediate dx, tx and media attention they need at that particular moment. (or trade them, immediately, before anyone get's wind of it! [for i'm positive that probably happens, too...what do you mean, not showing up at the next game, you punk! you just invalidated your contract, what "injury" - look fine to me...prove it!])

my 10 year old niece says i talk to myself too much. i say, i have a rich fantasy life.

or some days the comeback is, "nobody else will talk to me. i have no choice!"

anyhew, i hope i made some sort of sense to your, cyn or to somebody here. i have to go lie down now!

alison

I just sent him a simple email and the link -

Hi Hank- one of our Thoracic Outlet Syndrome {TOS} forum members saw the announcement about your diagnosis and surgery.
We would love to hear of your surgical outcome and recovery.
Be very careful during recovery and follow drs orders on activities and modifications until healed.
We don't usually hear many famous people getting this Dx.
If you would like to read more on TOS feel free to visit our forum.
Or forum link is- http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ad.php?t=20141

We do hope you have a fantastic recovery and are able to play fully soon.

****************************

And the articles I saw never clarified if it was a extra c rib or the top rib being removed- ya know they have to simplify and put a spin on it - for the management, team & fans.

surgical treatment of the compression depends on where the compression is and its cause.

we should remember that true brachial plexus nerve compressions can result in atrophy, wasting, loss of function etc, of the affected arm/hand (among other things), and aggressive, timely treatment may make the difference between getting back in the game (at the same level), or having to call it quits long before the athlete had planned.

there have been many football players that got traded the moment they suffered any kind of stretch injury to a shoulder (QBs especially) simply because everyone knows that the likelihood of returning to pre-injury form is pretty slim.

Injury/treatment specifics are not always spelled out [in the press]. Player contracts also cover injury, surgery (if applicable), recovery, and return to play. I doubt that they [player, doc and manager] would be advertising anything longer than 3 months rehab due to the potential for that athlete to be traded/replaced by a more capable body. Just is what it is.

On the old forum we had the post about KEnny Rogers another baseball player with TOS:

Rogers to miss first half of season
March 30, 2007

By JOHN LOWE

FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Posted at 1:57 p.m; updated at 2:22 p.m.

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Tigers left-handed starter Kenny Rogers is expected to miss the first half of the season after he underwent surgery on his pitching shoulder today to remove a blood clot and repair arteries.

Rogers underwent the surgery in Dallas. The surgery was performed by the same doctor who did a similar operation on Rogers six years ago, club president and general manger Dave Dombrowski said.

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In making the announcement on Rogers’ surgery and prognosis, Dombrowski said that Rogers would be able to begin throwing in six to eight weeks. “We anticipate he will be out three months,” Dombrowski said.

The Tigers are scheduled to open the regular season Monday. Veteran right-hander Chad Durbin, who has never had consistent big-league success, is taking Rogers’ spot in the rotation as the season starts.

But the possibility remains open that if Durbin falters, the club will replace him with left-hander Andrew Miller, its top pick in last year’s draft.

Dombrowski said Rogers had an artery replaced in the surgery. The club had hoped that Rogers’ problem could be fixed without the artery being replaced. That’s why Dombrowski was hopeful on Thursday that Rogers wouldn’t be out long.

According to a club announcement, Rogers had the blood clot removed and had two arteries repaired: the axillary and brachial arteries.

In his first Tigers season a year ago, Rogers went 17-8. In the post-season, he didn’t allow a run as he won all three of his starts.

Dombrowski, a long-time baseball executive, was admirably composed as he announced that one of his team’s top starting pitchers is expected to miss half the season.

“If you don’t think something is going to happen during a season, you’re living in dreamland,” Dombrowski said.

Rogers’ problem surfaced suddenly this week, although Dombrowski said it apparently had been building for some time.

“Amazing,” Dombrowski said. “There was no indication.”

Rogers didn’t allow a run last Saturday in his most recent start. On Wednesday, he told the training staff that his arm didn’t feel right. An exam quickly showed the blood clot, and Rogers was off to Dallas for surgery.

This is only the second time in his 19-year big-league career that Rogers has gone on the disabled list. The first time was in 2001, and as now, his trouble came from a circulation problem in his pitching shoulder.

His problem in 2001 was found to be caused by a muscle that compressed an artery against Rogers’ first rib. He had the rib removed. The name of the condition he had in 2001 is "thoracic outlet syndrome."

Dombrowski said he wouldn’t pursue a trade for a starter to replace Rogers.

“We are expecting him back, and people are calling us (in trade talks) about our pitching,” Dombrowski said.

Dombrowski and his staff have built what appears to be impressive pitching depth in the organization. With Rogers out, that depth is about to get a big test.

In light of Rogers’ surgery, Dombrowski used a line that has long been a favorite of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner during his amassing of championships. “You can never have enough pitching,” Dombrowski said.

Just got home...
TAKE ME BACK TO THE RESORT & SPA!

Did you stay with Tam?
If you are still down here in OC??
How was the thingy with your neice???
The bedrooms are open for buisness.
PM me
XXOO