Note-To find out when I will be performing in your town and to get on the mailing list, click on my address email at shanekinneycomic@yahoo.com, and in the subject line, write "List."
Yowza!
Hope everything is well with my fine folks as we are nearing the end of winter here, 2005. Greetings from me who is perpetually under six feet of snow at all times this year. My plow guy loves me, each day he flashes me a smile, baring all the gold teeth that I have paid for. Wonderful.
Can you believe that? It seems that the only times I throw updates on here is when there are changes! And it never ends! Nothing stays the same, just a constant flow of change.
I'm settled in at my house. I kind of dig it. Being a homeowner is fun, but expensive and stressful. I have a way to go before I really feel comfortable handling all this homeowner stuff.
As written about in my column, “The Oxymoron,” I took a fall on January 4th, and did some damage to my back. I didn't get into full detail in the column, but I can here, now I don't have to tell the same story over and over.
I took my baby pug Bella outside so she could go to the bathroom, and slipped on one of my steps. I was walking fast enough to create some velocity, ao that when I went down, there was no time to react. I landed flat on my ass and compressed my spine. My body had no time to brace and protect itself. It completely knocked the wind out of me, and I lost the ability to stand up. Being stubborn, I crawled into the house, hoping that this minor setback would soon heal itself, and then I could continue with my day.
I waited for 90 agonizing minutes before I concluded that healing was not to take place. Krista drove me to the hospital and I was admitted to the trauma unit. My body was in a shock like state, and I was grunting and groaning uncontrollably, because it was difficult to breathe. Sitting or standing, the pain had consumed me. I was toasted!
It took an hour to get Morphine into me. I was hyperventilating, and my veins had collapsed, preventing them from sticking me with a needle. Once the Morphine kicked in, we chased it with some Oxycodone. Even then, I was still in major pain.
X-rays revealed that I had suffered a compression fracture to one of my vertebrae. It also showed that I had ANOTHER compression fracture from when I was a kid. I also had bruised ribs, and a serious muscle strain. They sent me home, and I spent the next ten days in a chair, higher than a kite, drooling on myself.
I have never known pain like this. It has opened my eyes to the plague that is chronic back pain. I have nothing but the most sincere of sympathies to extend to anyone who is afflicted with it.
It took a month to get off of the drugs. I forced myself to do it, and went through a couple of days of withdrawal, which was harrowing to say the least. That says something about prescription drugs; sometimes it's better to be controlled by pain, not some little happy pill.
For a month, I was a different person. Always in a zombie like state, unable to be who I really was, and being completely unaware of the changes occurring in my mind amidst it. If there is a piece of advice I could offer-get OFF the drugs, before they dictate who you are. I remember dating a girl about four years ago who told me that she had chronic pain, and there was nothing any Doctor could do for her. She could take pills, but chose to live with the pain. I was 25 at the time, and couldn't grasp why she wouldn't take anything for it. Now I know why. It's evil, it's legal, and it's prescribed like candy, just to get people to shut up. There HAS to be a better way.
It's been nearly two months now, and I still cannot sleep through a night. I wake up in pain; pop some Ibuprofen, and hope I can get back to sleep. I started to visit a chiropractor, who is VERY POSITIVE. He thinks that after ten to twelve visits, I may be even BETTER than I was before. After just two very painful visits to him, I am starting to feel better, so I pray that I can get back to normal.
Experiencing this has hindered every aspect of my life. My ability to play drums has been limited, and doing the workhorse hours I that do has been cut short as well. I find that I spend more time on the sofa watching movies than doing all that I used to do. I hope that that will change too.
Amidst all the pain, I managed to fly out to California to attend the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show. My boss Chris and I had a grand old time. We were able to check out the new gear, attend sales meetings, and cavort with rock stars. One walks about ten miles a day inside these conventions, so needless to say, with the pain I was experiencing, I was a broken puppy at the end of it, but it was worth it. I was able to hang with my hero Nicko McBrain once again, and catch up with drum god Bobby Jarzombek as well. Real cool.
Thursdays at the Comedy Connection have ended for me for the time being. I needed a couple of months to recharge my batteries and write, and it just happens that the annual funniest professional contest was coming up, so we all decided to give me a break. I'm thankful for it. Maybe after a couple of months WHEN I feel better, I will be able to go back with intensity. I will keep you all posted as to what may unfold. But let me extend a sincere thank you to the fans and followers who came to see me for the past two years. I will be back at the Comedy Connection on April 15-16th, as well as performing dates around New England throughout all this.
The band I was telling you all about is ready to play out. We are hitting the studio two weekends in March to get three songs down. First, we will be at Big Sound studio with Mastermind Jon Wyman, and then we will be in Rhode Island to experiment with sounds there. The band is called Space Suit, I will post some dates as they come down the pike.
So, thanks to all my friends and family members who have lent a hand in my time of need, I hope to be back to 100 percent soon. In the meantime, wave to the plow guy for me.
Email me at shanekinneycomic@yahoo.com to find out when I'm performing near you!
See you out there!
-Shane