While (still!) waiting for the scheduler to call me with a firm date for the operating room, thought I'd share a funny story with a coincidental twist...
I have an almost-twin. Joe Hannabach. We're not related, but we look just enough alike to throw people off. He's another stubborn old upright player like me, who is also a born and bred Tarheel. We grew up a whole State apart though, and but for playing bluegrass and oldtyme music would probably have never met. Sure enough though, I don't even remember when or where, we did. Then about 10 or 12 years ago at the Old Fiddlers Convention in Galax, Virginia, on move-in day, I had one of my usual splitting headaches... one of those where I just couldn't see straight anymore. There was a pretty decent jam going on at that particular moment, and I didn't want to break it up, so I was relieved to see my buddy Joe walk up. I gladly handed off my bass, and left the jam in his capable hands. I laid down and put my face in a pillow. After a little while, I heard some people talking... one of them said- "well, that's Honeycutt on bass over there." And I thought, hmm. No, not me. A few minutes go by, and I realized they still don't know it's not me. Joe has also figured out they don't know who he is, and is having a little bit of fun with them. I look up a couple times, (still in cross-eyed pain mind you) and Joe's hamming it up... as me!
Before the week was overwith, we had taken to switching hats and shirts and on one occasion that week, we switched with each other's bands successfully for a few minutes. It got to be a running joke over the years, and we'd take a new picture now and then. So I caught up with my stunt-double week before last back in Galax again and in the course of conversation I told him about my pending surgery and having to bail on gigs this Fall and he got the strangest look on his face. Points to his neck and says- "So, now we'll have matching scars too!" That's right. He had to have exactly the same operation for exactly the same reason, 9 years ago, at age 46. Now I don't care what planet you're from, that's weird!
Now, here's today's not-so-good updates:
Both my Neurosurgeon and Pain Management Doctors have been baffled all along by why my left hand is the one with the symptoms. The MRI's clearly show the stenosis and spondylosis throughout the whole upper spine, but it's much worse in places that should be affecting my right side than the left. They can't figure it out, (I asked if they were holding the pictures backwards) but they are fairly certain I'll be right back in there, maybe in less than a year. So a decision has been made to expand the surgery to include a broader area. They're going to stay in there and fuse C5 through C7 vertibrae, all in one go. They tell me it's not that much bigger of a deal... I'll be under for longer, a little longer recovery/rehab, but it's the surgical equivalent of two birds with one stone I guess.
In the meantime, I have picked up either allergies or a respiratory bug, so I'm on some humongous antibiotics and such. I don't feel that bad, but they ain't taking any chances on me being sick in the next couple weeks. I think we're getting close now. I put everybody on notice, Labor Day weekend is probably gonna' be it for me. Better start lining up the subs.
