# Spinal cord injuries are not fun at all, but I'm very, VERY fortunate. And grateful **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 28, 2026, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083 "2026-02-28T18:59:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/41 "2026-03-06T16:09:30Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > But it is irritating to get a slight zing whenever I touch or grip something, or when my wife lays her hand on mine, etc. I may be stuck with those symptoms, but we’ll see. Years ago, i had those symptoms when i had a stress test, and the IV on the back of my hand was badly placed and damaged a nerve. Even with a peripheral nerve, it took something like a year to heal. Good luck, but think about what you can do to protect yourself from that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/42 "2026-03-06T16:11:03Z")
Good news and a nice syrup harvest. [Congratulations](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTE5sQGi6io&t=0m37s)! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/43 "2026-03-06T16:55:54Z")
Hey, a go go girl! Gotta love that!! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/44 "2026-03-06T19:34:37Z")
Best of luck! > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I had been happily sailing along without such signs/sx until yesterday at 12:30 AM, when I fell while trying to deal with a leg cramp, and landed on my face. I had a big foot/leg cramp start to hit yesterday. Thinking of your post, I grabbed onto the piano for stability, which was fortuitous, because the cramp turned out to be a whopper, and then realized that had I not, i would have ended up on the floor as well. So thanks for letting your misfortune be a learning experience for others! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/45 "2026-03-06T21:12:30Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > thanks for letting your misfortune be a learning experience for others At least I can serve as an example of what not to do ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/46 "2026-03-06T21:14:12Z")
Glad to hear the news was not worse. Nerves take forever to heal… when they do so at all. Take care - we care about you. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/47 "2026-03-06T22:53:59Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Take care - we care about you. Thanks, it is gratifying to receive the good wishes of so many. This community is important to me, I’ve been a member here nearly 26 years. And a lot of you folks are special to me too. We’ve been yammering away together about life, the universe and everything for quite some time now, and it feels like family. For better and worse, lol. Just like any family. Only better because you can mute some folks here. 😜 ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/48 "2026-03-06T22:55:50Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Take care - we care about you. Yes, please do. You are a friend, Qadgop, and I owe you another lunch soon. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/49 "2026-03-07T00:44:05Z")
Glad you’ve gotten some clear answers and have a plan. Keep doing great and no more face planting. Please ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/50 "2026-03-07T00:51:21Z")
More best wishes and hopes from us here. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/51 "2026-03-07T01:54:54Z")
Can you tap black walnut trees, too? And do you need a harsh MI winter, or would they still have a sap flow in the milder TN climates? Glad the physical ailments are getting better. Slow and steady. StG ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/52 "2026-03-07T01:58:17Z")
Thanks for the update and I hope you get the relief you need! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/53 "2026-03-07T02:10:16Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Can you tap black walnut trees, too? And do you need a harsh MI winter, or would they still have a sap flow in the milder TN climates? Sure, my tree is a black walnut. And you don’t need harsh winters, you just need a decent number of days in a row where the nighttime temperature is below freezing and the daytime temperature is above freezing. Then trees like maples, box elders, sycamores, walnuts, birch, alder, butternut, heartnut, linden, and a few others will have tappable sap. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/54 "2026-03-07T02:36:05Z")
What does the walnut syrup taste like? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/55 "2026-03-07T02:41:54Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > But only now do I truly understand what my former patients with severe neuropathic pains experienced. And I see firsthand how opioids are not very effective in relieving this type of pain for most sufferers. And I see why many of them contemplated suicide when they could not find decent relief from their pains. Because after having unrelenting pain for 12 hours, I was horrified by the thought of having to live with that degree of sheer agony and dysfunction without relief. Do us all a favor, and write this letter to the NEJM. Too many doctors need to read it. So glad you are recovering, and that the injuries were not debilitating. Hang in there! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/56 "2026-03-07T17:42:42Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > What does the walnut syrup taste like? It’s rather a mellow flavor, reminding me of butterscotch, yet not exactly like it. It’s less assertive than maple, and pairs nicely with cheesecake or a nice premium vanilla ice cream (like Kirkland) or other more subtly flavored foodstuffs. It does get overwhelmed by pairing with strong flavors. It also tastes nothing like walnuts, and it’s anecdotally reported that people with walnut allergies can have walnut syrup as it contains no nut proteins. But don’t bet your life on that without checking with your allergist. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/57 "2026-03-07T17:53:21Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Too many doctors need to read it. Too many doctors really never become empathetic until/unless they experience it for themselves. We do try to sympathize with our patients, but sympathy wears thin faster than empathy, IMHO. I am much more empathetic now that I’ve had a heart attack, long term diabetes complications, BPH, severe arthritic degeneration in bones and joints, radiation and hormonal therapy for cancer, and falls causing bony fractures and traumatic spinal cord injuries. Of course, now I’m retired so that empathy doesn’t get deployed on patients. But I can now empathize to beat the band with family, friends, and neighbors. Regular organ recitals occur almost daily! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/58 "2026-03-07T18:10:08Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Regular organ … in context, that sentence didn’t go where I expected 😉 Unless an “organ recital” is medical industry slang for folks’ complaining about each and every one of their ailing components, thereby reciting an inventory of their organs. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/59 "2026-03-07T18:15:33Z")
Ah, I just read this thread. So sorry, Qadgop. But glad to hear things are moving in the right direction at least and surgery isn’t immediately necessary. One thing (well, one of too goddamned many) I’m not to pleased about with aging is the loss of stability. I’m only in my late 50’s, but it’s definitely going and nasty consequences to formerly minor spills are just so much more likely these days. I stumbled on a hillside trail the other day in the stupidest way (stepped into the teensy little ditch) and managed to just catch myself in time, but if I hadn’t a broken ankle and broken camera might have been the best I could have hoped for. A pitch down the slope into assorted fallen trees would have been nasty. Meanwhile my father took a spill in a parking lot several months back that in addition to some stitches on his head crushed a fingertip badly enough it needed to be amputated. It’s “fully healed” but he now can’t really touch or brush it against anything the wrong way without getting an electroshock of pain. Better than a split skull to be sure - have to grateful for small mercies. But man, declining balance and reaction time is a bitch. Anyway, I hope your pain continues to recede. Tough is good, but not having to be tough is always better 🙂. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083/60 "2026-03-07T18:18:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Unless an “organ recital” is medical industry slang for folks’ complaining about each and every one of their ailing components, In these parts, ‘organ recital’ is what we call getting together with our fellow seniors and complaining about all our bodily failings. The young 'uns get tired of hearing about it quicker than my boomer peers, who are usually more than ready to participate in the recital. We all get our chance for a solo performance at these events. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinal-cord-injuries-are-not-fun-at-all-but-im-very-very-fortunate-and-grateful/1028083.md?page=4)