Gardens and Surgeons

One of the nice things about staying here at my Dad's is that I get to enjoy the fresh produce from his small garden.  Here's a small sampling:

The first picking of grape tomatoes.  That paper plate is only a 6" one.  The entire branch snapped off when I tried to lift it up to pick the ripe ones.

Two more strawberries - it's nearly the end of them.  Three more large zucchini - the biggest one there is over a foot long and over 2" wide; it was hiding!  And the lemon cucumbers, oh yum.

It's wonderful having all this freshness to enjoy but makes me sad that my Dad won't eat any but the cucumbers.  He likes watching it grow and seeing others appreciate it.  His corn is only just beginning to tassel and I don't know how long after it does to expect the corn to be harvestable.  He had some peas but they didn't do well and I only had a couple tablespoons worth when shelled.  He had planted radishes, again not because he eats them but because he likes how the plants look.  They didn't really develop any edible radishes either oddly enough.

Tomorrow we finally have an appointment with a neurosurgeon to see if there's anything that can be done to help my Dad's neck pain.  He had neck surgery January 2013 on the C3-4, C4-5, and C5-6.  There were bone spurs (osteophytes) that the surgeon did his best to remove but because of safety/risk concerns couldn't fully remove some of them and the C5-6 fusion protrudes further anteriorly than the others which could be some of his issues.  Also, well over a decade ago he had both his uvula removal, and a tracheostomy in attempts to combat his sleep apnea issues - there may have been more to that than I know too.  In fact, he had become discouraged with the trache, so had it removed, but then later had it reinserted, but then again got upset about it and removed it himself!  

And now he's 81 (on 8/1) and is convinced the first surgeon 'botched' the neck surgery and that is why he has ongoing pain issues and why we're consulting a neurosurgeon for his recommendations.  My guess is that it will be deemed far too risky to attempt to re-do the surgery due to calcifications, scar tissue, osteophytes and the proximity to the spinal cord - it was risky enough the first time.  I would also guess that a recommendation would include cortisone treatments by injection which may or may not be ok with my Dad.  He's locally known as a 'non-compliant' patient who often refuses to follow doctors orders to the full extent.  We shall see.