Can Anyone Give Me News About Tony Wells?

cazclocker

Purveyor of cheese.
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Hello, I hope this is an appropriate sub-forum to ask about Tony. I heard about his health problems about a month ago, but I've been out of town for 3 weeks with no internet access.
I've looked around but I can't seem to find any current information of his progress.
I hope he and his family are going to have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
 
Well Doug, I'm hobbling around a bit. I have a delicate balance to maintain. I have this bum leg to baby, but I also have low back issues that prevent me (or discourage me) from favoring it too much. If I twist my lumbar discs (or lack of) I get a lot of misery from that. However, I'm off the pain meds, and pushing through a self imposed PT regimen. Things are getting better, but slow, and I pay for it when I push too hard.

Thanks to all the folks here, I'm going to make it. I have a couple of irons in the fire warming up for January and February, so things may be looking up financially. I was and still am actually considering putting some effort to learn horology since most of the work is bench work and not a lot of parts are heavy. It does seem to be a dying art, so I think there may be a niche to fill. I am also exploring a couple of teaching positions where I can at least contribute what I know to a few students. There are a couple of smallish community and junior colleges in my area. So I do have a few options, just going back full time to what I had been doing seems out of the question for now at least. But the doc told me this would be a long, slow recovery. But he also said the leg would be stronger when it is fully healed than it was before the accident. The back, unfortunately, is in a downhill, irreversible slide. I've had injections and neurotomies, and yes they do help, but only so much, and for only so long. I figure in time I will be faced with fusion surgery. Hope now, but that's my guess.
 
Just a thought Tony...

Some of us are in our 60's and our backs have seen better days...
Yet proper diet, enough rest, and regular chiropractic visits...
More or less 'keep us straight'... grin.

Without my chiropractor... retirement a few years ago would have been necessary...
With regular appointments... I can continue to work... albeit more carefully... :)

If it were me... I would be careful about back surgery... just saying... :)
 
Agree 100% with GAGyro!

If you can, find a low-force chiropractor, not a bonecruncher. Look into accupucture, as well.
 
I do see a chiro who is also a 35 year friend, and he is helping me with the PT, opening up his gym to me any time I want it. He's a soft touch guy, no tossing you around on the table. I have been working with him quite a while on the back. And I agree.....surgery will be last resort. He's helped me a lot, and I plan on continuing to use him. I also have another old family friend who is in chiro work. He also is big in acupuncture. But he's near Denver, so I don't get up to see him often.
 
Hey Tony!! I'm so glad to hear from you yourself! Well, to chime in with the others, I'm in my mid-60's and without chiropractic, I'd be a much bigger mess than I am now. It was funny, because I was brought up by a very conservative midwest family who believed in the doctor's advice as gospel - and thought chiropractic was just voodoo hogwash. But chronic back pain in my 30's (yep, in my mid-30's) drove me to desperation. Long story short - I was in a state where it took me 10 minutes to get in the car and 15 to get out... I went to see my first chiropracter appointment, and I almost danced out of the office afterward!
Anyway, I was struck by your comment about possibly taking up horology. That's a pursuit I followed for many years, but recently I've not dabbled in much. If you decide to go that route, you're going to need a proper watchmaker's lathe. If that's the case, I might be able to fix you up. I have a somewhat extensive collection of American-made antique watchmaker's lathes that I never got around to displaying properly in my home. I might be persuaded to give one to you, if you wanted. Let's keep in touch.
 
I used to be skeptical about chiropractic medicine somewhat, anyway. My dad was a warehouse worker in a plumbing wholesale house, so had his share of wrestling with water heaters and cast iron bathtubs. He had back problems earlier than most, but he went the chiro route and they kept him going until he retired. Several years ago, I did something to my low back, and I can't pinpoint it, but my left left was practically paralyzed. Turned out a pinched nerve in my spine was the cause. After adjustments focused on the lumbar area, and using icepack therapy, the disc that was damaged and pressing on the nerves began to ease up from the swelling that was pinching the nerve. The damaged disc is still there and still causes pain, but most of the loss of motor control has been restored. There's little that can be done to restore the disc itself, so I guess I have that to look forward to....but for now at least I can get around. I had a case of what they call "drop foot" as part of it. That's where you cannot normally contract the calf muscles to lift your foot as you walk. Same muscle group you'd use to stand on your tip-toes. Was just about dragging the foot around. Once he got some movement back in those muscles I started walking every day at lunch. I didn't do so well at first, but he kept adjusting it, and I kept icing it.....it's about as close as it's going to get. According to the MRI's I've had dealing with the current back pain, it's the same vertebrae, same disc he was working on. Now that I've had the nerves burned, I don't feel the pain so much, but I have a feeling the motor nerves (which they don't ever burn) will eventually become a problem again. I still go to the chiropractor regularly, and he's been kind enough to treat me at no charge since I am not working, so I hope to delay what I fear is inevitable.

Doug, I wold sure appreciate some advice about getting into that line of work. My needs are few. I lead a simple life and have no large expenses such as a mortgage, or car payment. As far as I know there is no one in the area who does that kind of work. In fact, I have had a few phone calls inquiring about whether I did or not. So for all I know, the market is there I just need to break into it. I guess I'll be looking for some course to take, if for nothing else to establish my bona fides, plus the education I'll no doubt need. If we can come to some terms I can live with, of course I'll need some tools, most especially a lathe. I have more than plenty of conventional machinist tools, but nothing special for horology. I would need some advice on that too
 
I have a holistic chiro I see... the guy does 'applied kinesiology' (sp).... it is probably as close to voodoo stuff as one's mind will allow them to get... however it WORKS!

While we are on chiro work... cleaning up ones diet, getting enough rest, and reducing emotional stress in ones life... all contribute to a healthy physical structure. That is why the call it holistic... which IMO should be spelled wholeistic... :)

My chiro has a routine where he has me lay on my stomach on a triangular pillow at my waste line... which opens up the L disc which is being offensive... he presses on it a specific way (do NOT try this at home)... and it relaxes... followed by ice.

Wish medicare paid for chiro... by this time next year I could have it for free... :)

Here is something for you Tony: your chiro is a degreed and licensed medical doctor... as such: if he prescribes appointments on a regular basis, due to physical strains associated with work... then it is a legal tax deduction for your business... I ran this by my acct and it is solid. I see my chiro once a month, co pays.

There is a chiro named John Bandy... I think he is in the Austin area... guy is one of those cutting edge types... always studying the latest stuff... however he is VERY expensive... might look him up... John studied under a guy named Alan Beardall, the originator of applied kinesiology; my guy trained under John...

Bottom line... chiro will not permanently heal anything... it will, however, provide short term relief and restore mobility.
 
Well, GA....if he weren't a friend working on me for free, yes I'd take the deduction. He does all the voodoo stuff too, or at least some of it. He big on nutrition and posture too.
 
Tony....

I have been where you are... broke, broken body, in my case: literally NO HOPE...
Then, by the Grace of God, I was taught where my hope should be placed...

And yeah, God provided free chiro...
Along with free dental to get rid of the mouth full of mercury...
And some other things which were provided...

Now I see it as ALL from Him...
Which was, IMO, the lesson He had for me to learn.

Note I am not preaching...
Just sharing an experience.

Merry Christmas to you Tony,
And a Happy New Year!
 
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