The Old Man and the Blog: Well, that’s what it feels like

This is Renee, a sweet, busy woman I dated for a couple of years in the 1990’s.  We were on vacation in the Bahamas here, in our mid-30s, and does it get any better than this? 

Nope, I don’t think so.

At the time, we both worked for Omega Systems, an IT consulting company contracted by the city of Pittsburgh.  (I was a software developer for Allegheny County Dept of Aging, Renee was an IT manager at Alcosan, Allegheny County Water Authority). 

We met a year prior at a fancy dinner party at our VP’s house.  I was doing a running commentary of ice skaters Tonya Harding & Nancy Kerrigan (our hosts television was on but the volume was turned down) and I guess Renee’s laugh was more than just politeness, she called me the next day and asked me out to dinner.

Anyway, I can’t believe this photo is from 25 years ago.  I realize 25 years is a lifetime for some, but I can remember events from 1995 like it was just a few years ago. 

Oh the other hand, I look at my younger self here and it feels like I’m looking at another person… oh to be that young and fit again.  (And man, all that dark hair!)

Recently, my friend Erin (who does occasional IT work for Renee, now a project manager at a women’s hospital—it’s a small world) suggested I visit a chiropractor for some of my TMJ issues.  I knew of one that was only a block from my apartment (with some excellent Healthline reviews and in my insurance plan’s network) so I called and asked for an appointment.   They saw me right away.

Dr. Walsh was a very kind man, asked me to explain what was going on and what I thought was wrong.  I told him about the TMJD, and how it had spread into my head, neck, upper back.  I said “I’m no spring chicken, but I get up every morning feeling like a 90 year old man.  I have to take a couple of aspirin just to calm things down.  That can’t be normal… can it?”

He said for many older people, daily pain was a fact of life.  He also said that with my jaw dysfunction, it was bound to produce referred pain to vulnerable parts of the body.  

He did a pretty thorough physical examination, and said “Your patient form says you’re retired, but based on the curvature of your upper back, I’m guessing you spent decades hunched in front of a computer.”   Yep.  He began pressing into different areas behind me (causing me to yelp a few times) and told me I had a buildup of scar tissue in my right shoulder (an area I rub frequently), several muscle knots below my left shoulder and crepitus at the base of my skull and in my neck. 

I asked if that was why my neck seemed to make a lot of crunching sounds when I turned it left & right, he said “Yes, that’s crepitus.  Inflamed tendons rubbing against bone.  It’s not a bad thing necessarily, it just is.”  

He spent a lot of time with me—almost 90 minutes.  He did a lot of pressing, twisting parts of me to the right & left, always explaining what he was doing and why.  He warned me I’d be plenty sore the next morning, have lots of ice ready.  (He was right.) 

I’ll be seeing him twice a week for the next several weeks.  It’s only a 5 dollar copay, so why not.  He’s kind, knowledgeable and convenient.  And I have a feeling his treatments will be more practical than what that TMJ surgeon has to offer.

Oh, in case you’re wondering what happened to me & Renee, we wound up parting amicably a year or so after that photo was taken.  Our interests were just too opposite.  She enjoyed playing & watching sports and drinks and busy places, I liked quiet things, going to the movies or staying home with a pizza.  But she was a sweet, down-to-earth person and from what I hear, still is.

But what I wouldn’t give to wake up tomorrow morning and be a 35 year old Doug again.