The Ultimate Do-over: Surviving Chronic Back Pain and Osteomyelitis

I believe we do certain things as children, growing into them as established behaviors in adulthood. The one behavior we all seem to learn quite young is the idea that we can have a do-over! In fact, all we have to do is ask for it, and it's ours...we deserve one!

How many times did you call for a do-over as a child when things didn't seem quite fair, when things didn't turn out exactly the way you wanted them to, the way you envisioned them? I know, at least in my case, there were too many to count...particularly when competing in sports. I hated to lose, at anything!

Enter 1971 and my first spine operation. It wasn't long after that I was running the track at my high school, preparing for the spring track season and a stint in the Army. I'd been granted a do-over!

1973! We had just rung in the New Year and I was being med-evaced back to the States in the belly of a C-130, told I was in for a rough time and, the corpsman explained, "if you make it, you may never walk again!" Walk? I just wanted to survive...I needed another do-over, and fast!

1976! Running a 10k on the 4th of July in a little town on Lake Erie. People came up and asked if it was me, I looked so great! Do-over!

2000! They found it! After years of horrible, debilitating pain and a number of mis and missed diagnoses...they found it! I went in for one thing and came out the proud owner of one of the worst staff infections in recent history, but they had gotten it. Do-over!

2004! It had been back a few times, the staph I mean, but I had beaten it after a series of surgeries and terrible, debilitating neck pain, nack pain, and sciatic nerve pain (sciatica). Do-over! Do-over!

2007-2009! The Big C! Once again, remission followed by the worst pain of my life...neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, along with chronic fatigue syndrome, failed back surgery syndrome, and something they were calling fibromyalgia. What could be worse? Pain medication dependence...addiction!

Then, miracle of miracles and the ultimate do-over! Yup! Do-over, clean, sober, disease and pain free by the late spring of 2009. Do-over!

Do I believe in do-overs? By now? I believe in Santa Claus and The Easter Bunny!

Yes, I believe it is possible to wrestle your life back, to start again, to do it all over! After waring for years with my health, winning WWIII with my neck, back, legs...the ultimate do-over was mine, is mine. Do-over!

You too can have as many do-overs as you would like! I am living proof that osteomyelitis, The Big C, Type II Diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and chronically acute neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, and much, much more can be beaten...if you ask...and, if you invoke the time honored code:

Do-over!

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
216-539-7412
Skype: johnzajaros1
excellencepaidforwarde@gmail.com (personal email address)

PS, Contact me anytime and for more on the scared rite of "do-over!" Go to The John Zajaros Blog and tell us about your do-over experiences! Subscribe to the newsletter and you will get an awesome link to an ebook from Seth Godin in the confirmation email page! Enjoy!