The Journey of Gray Hair Dave: Navigating Injuries and Recovery
This episode elucidates the personal journey of Gray Hair Dave as he navigates the aftermath of a significant workplace injury that necessitated surgical intervention on his foot. The discussion commences with an acknowledgment of his absence from the podcast due to the complexities surrounding his health issues, particularly the exacerbation of pain stemming from his prior injury. He elaborates on the surgical procedure he recently underwent, detailing the nature of the repairs made to his foot and the subsequent recovery process, which involves the use of a cast and mobility aids. Furthermore, he reflects on the advancements in medical care, emphasizing the efficiency and responsiveness of contemporary healthcare systems in comparison to past experiences. Ultimately, this episode serves not only as a narrative of personal struggle and recovery but also as an invitation for listeners to engage with their own health journeys and the resources available to them.
The narrative unfolds with Gray Hair Dave, an emblematic figure characterized by his distinctive gray hair and beard, as he delves into a personal saga that encompasses a significant work-related injury sustained approximately 22 months prior. This incident, which transpired as he navigated a parking curb, catalyzed a series of medical interventions, including an extended period of rehabilitation that necessitated the use of a therapeutic boot. He elaborates on the subsequent transition from a physically demanding role in bus driving to a more sedentary position, ultimately leading to the exacerbation of his initial injury. Through introspective commentary, Dave reflects on the psychological and physical ramifications of his condition, illuminating the intricate relationship between occupational demands and personal health. The discussion progresses to encompass the decision-making process regarding surgical intervention, wherein he candidly expresses his aversion to surgery and recovery, yet acknowledges the necessity of such measures to alleviate chronic pain. Ultimately, Dave's journey encapsulates a broader discourse on the complexities of injury, rehabilitation, and the pursuit of an improved quality of life, resonating with listeners who may share similar experiences of navigating health challenges amidst professional obligations.
Takeaways:
- The host, Gray Hair Dave, experienced a significant injury to his foot, which led to a prolonged healing process.
- Surgery was deemed necessary after extensive consultations and unsuccessful treatment options, highlighting the importance of medical intervention.
- Technological advancements in healthcare have drastically improved patient experiences compared to past decades, as evidenced by the efficiency of his surgery and recovery.
- The host expressed gratitude for the support received from friends during his recovery, emphasizing the value of social connections during challenging times.
- Gray Hair Dave plans to increase his podcasting efforts, indicating his commitment to engaging with his audience more frequently in the future.
- Listeners are encouraged to assist others in discovering podcasts, which reflects a desire to promote the medium and help expand its audience.
Transcript
Welcome to five Minutes with Gray Hair Dave.
Speaker A:He has gray hair.
Speaker A:He has a gray beard.
Speaker A:He wears glasses like the guy in the artwork.
Speaker A:Oh, and the guy in the artwork is better looking.
Speaker A:Now here is Gray Hair Dave.
Speaker B:So what did you think of that one?
Speaker B:I like.
Speaker B:I still like the 11 Labs intro.
Speaker B:I hope you do too.
Speaker B:I've been away for two or three weeks and I apologize for that.
Speaker B:Been a lot going on and I thought maybe it'd be time now to talk to you about it.
Speaker B:Almost two years ago, you know, it's like 20 months ago.
Speaker B:22 months ago I had an injury at work.
Speaker B:I slept off a curb.
Speaker B:Then I kind of fell over a parking.
Speaker B:Oh, what's the word?
Speaker B:A parking curb.
Speaker B:That kind of screwed things.
Speaker B:It screwed my foot up a little bit for quite a while.
Speaker B:So that year I was out for three months wearing a boot because I was healing.
Speaker B:And then I was going through physical therapy and back then I was driving buses so I wasn't standing up all the time.
Speaker B:So it wasn't so bad.
Speaker B:It really wasn't.
Speaker B:And then you know, after that I found a.
Speaker B:Another position I went to in the company where I was sitting again all about was always sick cuz it was a.
Speaker B:A desk job, you know, a real human desk job.
Speaker B:I liked it, I like that a lot.
Speaker B:But that's beside the point too.
Speaker B:I've already meant, I think I've talked about it.
Speaker B:If not we'll eventually get there.
Speaker B:But I wanted to, you know, that was a temporary assignment.
Speaker B:And that temporary assignment ended and I had to go back to driving buses, which is fine.
Speaker B:I don't mind driving buses.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's not a bad gig.
Speaker B:But I'm really kind of tired of driving big stuff.
Speaker B:I've been driving semis, I've been driving big stuff like that for most of my adult life.
Speaker B:From stake trucks to semis to buses, you know, everything in between.
Speaker B:Pushing airplanes around, you know, doesn't matter.
Speaker B:Forklifts matter.
Speaker B:I can drive most everything now.
Speaker B:That doesn't mean I'm out there with construction equipment.
Speaker B:Sure, I could figure it out, but at my age, why do I want to.
Speaker B:Gray haired Dave doesn't need to go out and start working a construction job.
Speaker B:My God, that's not gonna happen.
Speaker B:I'm looking to slow down, not speed up.
Speaker B:But anyways.
Speaker B:When I left buses and went to the Disney Skyliner department, I was on my feet eight, nine hours a day, three, four days a week, sometimes two or three days a week.
Speaker B:But I was always moving and this injury flared itself back up and it kept getting worse and worse and worse.
Speaker B:So I of course talked to my boss and my boss sent me over to the, the health department, Health services department, which sent me back to my specialist.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And I think I've talked a little bit about it.
Speaker B:We, we did some time with a boot and relaxing.
Speaker B:It put me on light duty, which is no fun, you know.
Speaker B:And then she tried cortisone with a brace, but no, the boot was, was helping, but I was never getting better.
Speaker B:Just wasn't getting any better.
Speaker B:So I decided what I needed to do.
Speaker B:Now, this is.
Speaker B:I didn't decide this all on my own.
Speaker B:My doctor, David, here's where we are right now.
Speaker B:You can put up with this for the rest of your life and be in pain and keep coming back every three or four months for cortisone shots, which don't help.
Speaker B:I'll be honest, the cortisone helped for about a week because it's fresh in there.
Speaker B:But then it didn't matter.
Speaker B:I still had the pain.
Speaker B:Or we could go ahead and do surgery and repair it.
Speaker B:Now, I'm not a huge fan of surgery.
Speaker B:I've had a few in my life and for me, it's not the surgery, it's the recovery that's a killer.
Speaker B:But a week and a half ago, well, 10 days now, I had surgery on my left foot.
Speaker B:She made two incisions, she told me today, she repaired a tear in a tendon and then she strengthened the ligament.
Speaker B:And she was also going to check into my, my heel.
Speaker B:She thought she might have to move my heel because of the.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's all she called it.
Speaker B:Really weird thing.
Speaker B:She called it loosey goosey, which is what it was.
Speaker B:We're gonna see what happens after this fix.
Speaker B:So I was in like a soft cast for the past 10 days.
Speaker B:My great friend took me there, stayed with me while I was in surgery, and then brought me back home.
Speaker B:And of course I'm on crutches.
Speaker B:No pressure on it, no walking on it for a month.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:And then they ordered me a four wheel scooter.
Speaker B:It's called a knee scooter.
Speaker B:So it's easier for me to get around it because I'm going to be 100% honest with you.
Speaker B:I'm not very good at crutches.
Speaker B:And those of you who have to use them all the time, God bless you.
Speaker B:I'm sorry, but they are not for me.
Speaker B:I'm not an uncoordinated person.
Speaker B:But when it comes to Those things, gosh.
Speaker B:Plus not being able to put any pressure on my foot.
Speaker B:So I've been laying in bed for the past 10 days.
Speaker B:So I went there today, today was supposed to be examined, get the bandages rewrapped, you know, changed.
Speaker B:And she looks at my foot and she goes, huh?
Speaker B:Because I wasn't supposed to, I was supposed to get 14 days, get the staples or the stitches removed.
Speaker B:She goes, huh, okay, well we're gonna take the stitches out.
Speaker B:Oh, okay.
Speaker B:Which meant I don't have to go back this Friday, which is a couple of days from now, and have stitches out.
Speaker B:And she goes, and now we're gonna put the cast on.
Speaker B:Okay, you still can't.
Speaker B:I don't want you moving or putting any pressure on what I've done.
Speaker B:You're not ready yet.
Speaker B:You have to go through this process too.
Speaker B:She goes, you're not walking on us for a month.
Speaker B:Okay, well, I'll be 100% honest with you folks.
Speaker B:I have never had a cast before in my life, never broken a bone or done anything to my body where I needed a cast.
Speaker B:Worst thing I've ever done is this foot problem where I've injured my foot.
Speaker B:Everything else has been internal in the torso area.
Speaker B:So it's not a big deal compared to, to this.
Speaker B:And oh yeah, one more thing I wanted to mention too.
Speaker B:I the hospitals now, compared to 20, 30, 40 years ago, everything is so much better.
Speaker B:Everything check in processes.
Speaker B:This would have been an overnight stay before, if not a two or three week stay or a couple of days stay.
Speaker B:Nah, I was out in a couple hours.
Speaker B:My surgery was at 1 and I was home by 4:35 o'clock.
Speaker B:I don't think that's bad.
Speaker B:I really don't.
Speaker B:I don't think that's bad at all.
Speaker B:And knowing they're constantly checking on you and keeping you as informed as they possibly can, constantly ask me if you have questions.
Speaker B:It's amazing and I am extremely, extremely impressed.
Speaker B:And that's not just this doctor, it's the whole system that I'm in and it's great.
Speaker B:But what I want to tell you is that because of the technologies that are out there now, and everybody needs to have responses on what happened to you.
Speaker B:How was it?
Speaker B:So I've been, I must have, I have one more survey to fill out for the anesthesiologist.
Speaker B:But I'll bet you I've filled out six or ten maybe surveys about what's going on here.
Speaker B:You know, that each department wants their own survey because they want to know how they're doing.
Speaker B:They want to, they want to grade themselves and see what needs to be improved and how it's running and it.
Speaker B:I'll tell you some of these are pretty intense.
Speaker B:But anyway, so I got a cast on my foot today folks and she says you're gonna try and help me when I went but just leave your just leave.
Speaker B:Just bend your knee and let me do everything.
Speaker B:So I did because I've never, I wasn't fighting anything.
Speaker B:She just let me and she wrapped it and then she put the fiberglass, you know, wraps around with.
Speaker B:And I got a black one.
Speaker B:I like it.
Speaker B:So it's, it's better than the other what I have had because if the tendencies that you are normally to use to walk happens to come in through.
Speaker B:I can't hurt myself because the cast is hurt.
Speaker B:I can hurt myself but I'm not going to.
Speaker B:But it's a more real reminder.
Speaker B:Plus I feel more secure in getting up and moving around.
Speaker B:I've been laying in bed for 10 days.
Speaker B:You know, I'd get up to go to the restroom or I'd get up and go maybe eat but normally I've been eating in bed.
Speaker B:So I'm back at my computers today.
Speaker B:And I'll be honest too, I didn't have much pain afterwards.
Speaker B:Couple of.
Speaker B:She put me on, on a hydrocodone for pain and she gave me 18.
Speaker B:I still have two of those devils left and no, I will not sell them to you because there's.
Speaker B:I haven't been in really any pain.
Speaker B:I every once in a while I take a anti inflammatory if I feel a little bit of pain but it's nothing.
Speaker B:It's been great.
Speaker B:So I'm excited about that folks.
Speaker B:And then that's what's going.
Speaker B:So for now it's still staying home, no work and I'm scooting around the house on my little four wheel scooter.
Speaker B:It's pretty fun.
Speaker B:Now I wanted to tell you I'm recording this on a Monday.
Speaker B:I'm going to edit it tonight and I don't know if I'll get it out so it'll definitely be out on Tuesday.
Speaker B:And again, my apologies for being so late.
Speaker B:Things happen in life, right?
Speaker B:And if you're a podcaster and you don't, you don't prepare for that where you're.
Speaker B:You have a bunch already re.
Speaker B:You know, pre recorded.
Speaker B:You can get into these situations but when it comes to five minutes with gray hair Dave, I don't really think that I have to worry about it tomorrow.
Speaker B:Also, I'm going to start recording more shows for Boomer podcasters.
Speaker B:So if you're interested in that, please come back.
Speaker B:It's been, that's when that one's been a good month because in reality I'm to the point in the progression where I need to show you things.
Speaker B:So it's going to split up and I'll explain all that to the Boomer podcasters group.
Speaker B:But hey, thanks for hanging in there.
Speaker B:I'm back.
Speaker B:I'm going to try and make it back every week this next two or three weeks.
Speaker B:I shouldn't have a problem with that.
Speaker B:In fact, I'm going to try and get ahead a little bit.
Speaker B:But I like talking about things that are going on in the world as of as we're, we're talking about it now, which makes it for me a little more difficult to go ahead and get ahead of the game because this is, this has progressed in this 140 so far because this is number 141.
Speaker B:We've progressed from.
Speaker B:Here's what happened when I was this young and that old and this wife and that wife and songs and this and that and it's, it's okay, you know, that's what this is meant to do.
Speaker B:So if this is something you're interested in doing, just coming on and chit chatting and getting your thoughts and feelings out there, podcasting is the way to go.
Speaker B:Really is.
Speaker B:So is video podcasting.
Speaker B:So is vlogs.
Speaker B:You know, we all know YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, so they do a lot of videos.
Speaker B:There's a lot of videos there and you're gonna see a lot of mine.
Speaker B:So that's it for today, folks.
Speaker B:Please, please, please.
Speaker B:If you know somebody who doesn't know what a podcast is, doesn't know where to find one, doesn't know what it looks like on their phone.
Speaker B:You know, do me a favor, show them what it is.
Speaker B:Show them how to use it.
Speaker B:Show, help them with pick a genre and help them learn how to follow and, and, and subscribe to the podcast and especially mine.
Speaker B:You know, I like it.
Speaker B:I'm gray hair.
Speaker B:Dave's out here just trying to make friends.
Speaker B:Also folks, don't forget, if you are interested in being a podcaster, Boomer Podcasters is my free version of how to do that right now.
Speaker B:It's free for a while, so get in early.
Speaker B:One more thing, folks.
Speaker B:Do me a favor and do yourself a favor.
Speaker B:Smile at somebody you don't know.
Speaker B:You'll make their day, which in turn will make your day.
Speaker B:So on behalf of me, Gray Hair Dave and Gray Hair production central.
Speaker B:You all have a great day, and I will talk to you next week.
Speaker B:Bye.
