I have some inside info :-)
Thanx all!
This is what me and some of my family members have to deal with on a daily basis:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereditary_multiple_exostosesLuckily for us we have a mild version of this inconvenience, but nevertheless it can be very annoying and painful sometimes...
I've had 4 growths removed from my knees in my teenage years (I think I was around 17) after that I never really paid much attention to it and just took in the discomfort of the occasional "pain waves"
Things have drastically changed in my situation in the last +/-5 years, to the point where I wasn't able to breathe normally without feeling a sharp pain in my back.
I was directed to a HMO specialist in Amsterdam and they mapped out every corner/detail in my body (extensive X-ray puzzle, full body MRI and some pet scan images)
They discovered a growth on the inside of a rib that was poking in my lung, obvious suspect there :-)
First plan was to cut the rib on each side of the growth and remove that part of the rib with growth, which had the obvious downside of leaving a gap in the rib (would be no problem , because there's very much muscle stuff in there that keeps things together) :-)
But he later came with another option; Going in with a chisel through keyhole surgery, and remove the growth from the inside. For this procedure the need to collapse the lung to make room for the instrument and camera, so I had to wait a bit longer because a Thorax (rib cage area) specialist was needed.
I went for the second option and they removed a 5 cm weird looking "bone mass thingy" on June the 28th, plus another tiny one that couldn't be seen on the mri and X-rays
About everything I experienced in the hospital was as good as painless, before surgery there's that tiny -but very effective- groovy pill and they were very generous with oxycodone and some other painkiller.
For those interested, I have some pictures and maybe even get the filmed footage. I won't post them here or on Facebook (pretty bloody stuff) but have no problem sharing them if requested by email.
So recovery involved: Two tiny wounds (about 3cm) and severe bruised ribs (bruised from the inside!)
I opted to stay away from the heavy painkillers, so that was pretty painful...
But now since some weeks it all feels pretty normal again and the ability to breathe normally feels very good.
Also a bit weird and very "refreshing" after +/-25 years of discomfort.
I've stopped playing with the band at the end of 2017 and was replaced by the almighty Menno Meinema.
If you're on facebook, plz look him up and give him kudos. Great guy and awesome bass player, he did a great job on such short notice.
And indeed the 26th and November the 3rd it will be Alembics roaring through Mesa's again :-)
Can't wait to give 'em some full lung capacity Newsted style screams again.
Thanx again all and enjoy life as much as you can in good health!
