It’s December already and snowbirds have returned to the neighborhood, only to disappear again for the Holidays. We aren’t scheduled to leave again until the end of February. It’s been a year of frustration following open heart, cataract, and prostrate surgeries along with steroid treatments for sciatica pain. It reminds me of the lyrics, “One thing leads to another” by The Fixx, although the song has nothing to do with my trials and tribulations. It’s just that the leg pain would not be there if it weren’t for the surgical procedures. I would certainly like to go back to when I was running every day, earlier this year.
The annual Tomahawk 5k is coming up next weekend and I’m not sure I’ll be able to even walk that short distance that was once an easy run. The last steroid treatment has left me with a permanent Charlie Horse in my left thigh. Hot and cold applications haven’t worked. I now limp along in discomfort from a procedure that was supposed to eliminate my pain. Instead, it seems to have aggravated the issue. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the doctor’s office has been closed, so I will have to wait to get guidance. I’m once again, back to being “The Gimp.”
I can still ride the stationary bicycle, but the rest of my fitness regimen is on hold. Putting weight on the leg is painful, so walking and lifting are not possible. It’s not helping me shed the pounds from all the Holiday temptations, compounding my problem. I’ve got to somehow lose ten pounds despite my limited mobility. I had recently started to regularly walk to the fitness center prior to this set back, but even the treadmill is now uncomfortable. Being active has been an essential part of my daily life, but I’m limited in what I can do. One thing leads to another.
It was a tough Thanksgiving week 2024 for Hoosier sports. The Battle 4 Atlantis was a disaster for both the men’s and women’s basketball programs. The women only scored 39-points against the Tarheels after beating Columbia and #18 Baylor. The men only managed to get to 61 in a bad loss to Louisville after a couple of last-minute steals and then gave up 57 in just the first half against Gonzaga. The magic was working against us in the Bahamas and there were few positives to write about. In addition, soccer fell short in the Sweet 16 to Denver 1-0. Were these to be ominous signs for the upcoming Bucket Game?
The doubt started in Columbus where I.U. jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Suddenly, the vulnerability began to show with dropped passes, uncharacteristic penalties, and a disastrous fumble in punt formation. To make matters worse, blown coverage allowed a game-clinching touchdown, adding to the many miscues of the day. Suddenly, the undefeated Hoosiers were no longer and hopes of a coveted playoff berth were in doubt. Would the 1-10 “Spoilermakers” somehow find a way to upset the heavily favored and 10th-ranked Hoosiers on a snowy day in Bloomington?
Purdue had won the last three of these rival games, with IU’s last victory in 2019. Covid won the 2020 battle! The largest margin of victory was 68-0 by the Boilermakers back in 1892, the second year of gridiron competition between the two schools. In fact, Purdue won the first six games, one by forfeit, following losses of 60-0, 68-0, and 64-0. It’s a wonder that the Hoosiers agreed to resume play after a two-year hiatus in 1895 and 1896. A 1903 Halloween contest was cancelled when 17 people were killed in a train crash while traveling to the game. Games were also missed in 1906, 1907, 1918, and 1919, but otherwise it’s been an annual affair encompassing 126 games with Purdue leading with links on the bucket 77-43-6.
The “Magic of 60” on the football field never happened again until 2004 in West Lafayette when Purdue dominated 63-24 and repeated the beating in 2008 with a 62-10 thrashing. The most I.U. had ever scored was 56 in 2013 until the 66-0 gem to end the 2024 regular season with an unprecedented 11-1 record under first year coach, Curt Cignetti. I.U. is now officially a football school!
I felt like I was in a Monopoly game yesterday and drew a Chance card that read, Go Back Three Spaces.” I woke up this morning after a restless night’s sleep to some dizziness and weight gainj. By fasting for the injection procedure, I obviously threw off my medication schedule. It was particularly noticeable in the shakiness of my hands. We also stopped at Arby’s after the surgery center so I could gorge myself on a celebratory Janocha Shake. Although, there wasn’t much to cheer about, and it only led to an unsettled stomach that added to the tossing and turning.
The cramp-like symptoms returned to my left leg and left me hobbled. Nurses helped me to the bathroom and car, but ice packs and rest did not resolve the pain. In fact, after leaning on my poor wife too many times for assistance, I had her bring “Sky Walker” out of retirement to get me around the house. She took over all the dog duties while I sat on my butt, ate more junk, and watched Yellowstone, Landman, Curse of Oak Island, and The Unbelievable. I’ll continue today with Gold Rush, Shrinking, and Before. We then have Thanksgiving dinner plans with my son and his family.
The good news is that I didn’t really need the walker this morning but there’s still a certain tightness/soreness in my leg and lower back. It can take up to three days for the steroids to work, although it has been known to provide immediate relief in some people. That is not the case for me, as I deal with the frustration of going back in time about eight months, following my open-heart surgery in January. The sciatica issues came on slowly after starting with these Charlie Horse-like cramps in my left calf and thigh. It has never affected my right side. At first, they thought it might be related to circulation, but MRI and Ultrasound tests have proven otherwise. Steroid tablets did not do the trick, but the first round of injections brought relief. The second round has hopefully only temporarily set me back.
On a humorous note, a friend sent a cartoon yesterday, with a family of generous pigs visiting a heart valve patient like me. It made me smile, with thoughts of the College World Series and the obnoxious Razorbacks with endless chants of soooooey! I woke up from being sedated to watching the I.U basketball team go down in flames. Unfortunately, it did not turn out to be a bad dream. They have a chance today to redeem themselves in the Bahamas, but the loss left an ugly scar on Coach Woodson’s team, who sadly took a step back in time, just like me. They too, may need an operation!
While hyped a bit on ‘roids, I also sent out a photo of the “No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach’s In)” album done by the T-Bones back in 1964. It was available on E-Bay, while my copy is long lost. My dad brought it home from a recording session in NYC where he worked with the agency who produced this promotional piece for Alka-Seltzer. It featured the jingle, “Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz, Oh What A Relief It Is.” It’s as appropriate for Thanksgiving as Alice’s Restaurant, two of my favorite Holiday songs. This will soon be followed by the movies “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” along with “Christmas Vacation,” to get me in the Holiday Spirit and well distracted from this disturbing “Step Back.”
The IU women came home to heal after a 56-46 loss at Butler’s famed Hinkle Fieldhouse. It was only the 4th time in coach Teri Moren’s tenure that they failed to score at least 50 points, plus the team committed 16-turnovers. It was a disappointing start to the season, after beating Brown in the opener but losing to Harvard in overtime, despite a 60-57 lead in regulation that should have been magical. They faced 4-0 Stanford at Assembly Hall, ranked 24th in the country with the #1 ranked offense. It was a tough assignment to dig out of a 1-2 hole, but the Hoosier women prevailed 79-66. There’s no place like home.
The I.U. men continued to win at home but sputtered in the process. The defense against UNC-Greensboro was stifling at the start, as the Hoosiers jumped out to a 21-5 bulge, but by halftime the Spartans had cut it to single digits with hot 3-point shooting and too many second chance shots. For some reason, IU could not get in position for offensive rebounds, allowing seventeen, despite a substantial size advantage. In shocking fashion, UNC-Greensboro went on to tie the game early in the second half at 40, while the home crowd went quiet.
We’ve seen these lulls in play over the past few years, as coach Woodson tinkers with the lineup. From the 11:07 mark to 5:04 left in the half, the Hoosiers were stuck on 21. Then, they only scored 5 points in the first five minutes of the second half and got stuck again on 45 before finally stretching the lead to over ten. At 7:56, they managed to get to sixty on a Myles Rice layup with an 11-point lead. The final score was 69-58.
Freshman Bryson Tucker was the star of this game with 14 second-half points, when he got his chance to play, although Myles Rice was the leading scorer with 20. Ronald Polite III led the Spartans with 17. IU was 5-19 from three-point range while UNC-Greensboro launched 32, but only 9 fell. Reneau, Mgbako, and Ballo each totaled nine points and Luke Goode finally hit a three. At least, the team was solid from the free throw line at 14-16 but there were fourteen turnovers.
Both the men and women head to the Bahamas, with the men’s first game against Louisville while the women start with 4-1 Columbia. The Bad Boy Mowers Battle for Atlantis is a mouth full and perhaps a bit sexist. The “Bad Girls” in the Bahamas may have an issue with the name. We’ll see who comes home with the hardware.
We are home for the holidays, with no plans for travel. Thanksgiving dinner will be at my son’s house and Christmas will likely be here. By that time, they will all be living in Plantation, Florida, with the exception of my grandson who will be with his mother in nearby Sarasota. We’re not expecting my wife’s daughters to visit until early January, so our next excursion won’t be until mid-month when we go to Orlando, and then we have house guests on-and-off through March, with a weekend in Key West. The world travelers are grounded for once – no long drives, flights, or cruises are planned. More importantly, no surgeries scheduled.
We’ll be stuck in our resort center for once, certainly as good as any Marriott Vacation Club. My Chair Yoga class will expand to two days a week, while my wife has already added an extra evening of tap. She will continue to teach school when they need help and maybe I’ll find a part-time gig. Her gardening, bridge, and aqua-fit activities will hopefully keep her mind off travel for a while. I’ve had enough of suitcases, delays, and tours, so I won’t miss being on the road. We need to take advantage of what we have here.
I’m beginning to heal after a long year of aches and pains. Being home is exactly what the doctor ordered. Maybe next year, I’ll feel differently, but this year I’m home for the holidays, extending to the next holidays.
I continue to enjoy the first pain-free week of this year, with just a touch of stiffness in my lower back. Chair Yoga was much more tolerable, although many of the poses are still not possible with my lack of flexibility. Hopefully, the additional injections next week in my lower back will be equally effective as those for my sciatica. I’m also encouraged that the Primidone prescription is reducing the shakiness and clumsiness in my hands. The keyboard isn’t as much of a challenge for my fingers this morning and I can use normal kitchen utensils, rather than the heavier ones, again when eating. The neurologist says that he will continue to slowly increase my dosage, providing that drowsiness, dizziness, or other side effects don’t affect me. My life is gradually turning normal and I’m thankful.
It’s that time of year – Thanksgiving – and next week the Johnston family will be back together again. My grandson has been accepted to technical school and my son will soon be moving to the east coast of Florida to rejoin his wife and two daughters. This year’s meal will be the last time that all of us will be in place for a while. He’ll be changing jobs and renting out their home in the process. My daughter-in-law is in optometry school over there and has an apartment. They tried to make it work it two different cities, but it’s good that they are joining forces to raise the kids. Part of the difficulty has been my son’s son, who lives every other week with his mother in Sarasota, and commutes by bus to high school. With his graduation and a long overdue driver’s license, he may be moving to Ft. Wayne, Indiana to live with his grandmother, my ex-wife. It’s complicated!
By the time Turkey Day arrives this may all change. One thing that never changes is that IU will be playing Purdue that weekend in the annual Bucket Game. The Hoosiers are a heavy favorite and may even be a national title contender. The Ohio State game this weekend will determine if playing for the Old Oaken Bucket is just another game or a battle for the unimaginable undefeated season, with more to come. More importantly, will these additional steroid injections finally get me back to thinking about running again? It will be an eventful Thanksgiving weekend for both the Johnston family and the Hoosiers.
It’s now been a full month since prostrate surgery, while ten months have passed since open heart. I feel pretty good lately thanks to the epidural injections I got last week to relieve the sciatica pain. My lower back is still very stiff and sore, but more shots next week should ease that discomfort, if only temporarily. I continue to go to the fitness center, hoping to take some weight off, especially after last week’s food and drink splurges. It was a beautiful, sunny morning, despite a very early start since my wife had jury duty. A good day for me was not so good for her.
My weekend football fortunes were not so good, thankfully the Hoosiers had an off week. Da’ Bears suffered yet another heartbreaking loss, so I hope that this misfortune doesn’t extend into the upcoming Ohio State game. The Buckeyes are twelve-and-a-half point favorites, another slap in the face by the experts during this undefeated season of doubt. The pessimist in me can’t see a victory and potential battle of the unbeatens against Oregon for the BIG championship, let alone a national playoff spot. Basketball was at least a bright spot for both the IU men’s and women’s teams. I’m much more accustomed to winning in basketball than football.
I’ve felt much more like socializing, making phone calls, and enjoying the sunshine this past week. I’m starting to put this difficult year of recovery behind me. I’m convinced that some of my back issues are related to not being able to move forward. It’s time to do so and relish yet another good day.
While IU football had the day off, Hoosier fans finally got a look at the prospects of this year’s basketball team. South Carolina came into Assembly Hall with an early season loss but at least provided a formidable early season test after a couple exhibition games and two comfortable victories. IU proved that they can hit the three this year, even without intention, after Kanaan Caryle’s lob to Mackenzie Mgbako found the net instead of outstretched hands. Hopefully, it’s a sign of what’s to come following this much improved 8-17 performance behind the arc. Guard play was hampered by injuries to Gabe Cupps, Jakai Newton, and Anthony Leal, but Myles Rice stepped up with 23-points and Carlyle added twelve in this 87-71 victory. There were still a lot of rough edges, but at least turnovers were limited to eleven.
Trey Galloway put the game away with three of his eleven points at the 10:46 mark for a 62-44 lead, allowing the “first to 60” to work its magic. Oumar Ballo had thirteen rebounds and finally scored his first of seven points once “Sixth Man” Galloway entered the lineup and started to feed him in the post. The fans got fed free French Fries when the Gamecocks’ Jacobi Wright missed two consecutive free throws with 26.9 on the clock thanks to the Finney’s promotion.
Morris Ugusuk led South Carolina in scoring with 18-points with Collin Murray-Boyles in foul trouble. Mackenzie Mgbako continued to impress with seventeen for the Hoosiers. Next up is UNC Greensboro in Bloomington before they head to the Bahamas and the first Battle 4 Atlantis game against Louisville.
After some frustration yesterday about injection ineffectiveness and unrelated computer hackers, I found it to be a new and brighter day. Following months of waiting and delayed appointments, I finally got my chance to get some relief from my sciatica (Lumbar Radiculopathy) pain through Lumbar Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injections at the Ramos Center. It was not immediate, as several friends had suggested, so I was sore and wary by the end of the day. This was coupled with a hacking issue on my computer from someone claiming to be a Microsoft representative. I spent about an hour with her on the phone after googling her profile, as requested. Her name was supposedly Kathy Williams, with a thick Indian accent, that made me even more suspicious. We agreed to talk again today, but after consulting a friend, we removed a “security” lock on my screen and shut down my computer. I bought a VPN service called Surfshark and will stay off my laptop for a few days. This is why I originally wrote this my phone to transfer to the blog.
The steroid injections made me a hyper (like speed), with a bit of an upset stomach, so sleep was sporadic. My wife had just gotten back from a west coast flight, and she was also restless in the middle of the night. I was worried about retirement finances, leg/back pain, and identity theft. It’s no wonder my blood pressure has been running high these past few weeks. Drinking with the boys failed to relieve this stress, despite a few hours of medicated enjoyment.
This morning my leg pain was gone, and I felt like walking to the fitness center and back. My paranoia over being hacked was also eased, and my blood pressure was back to normal. I go back for more injections in two weeks that will be more focused on my lower back, the other source of discomfort. I can’t imagine how much better I will feel, at least temporarily. It’s a New Day!
After a strong run to finish the regular soccer season and sharing a Big Ten title with #1 seed Ohio State, the Hoosiers fell short to Michigan with a strong sense of disappointment since they easily won the regular season match 5-0. They then had to patiently wait for their seeding in the NCAA tournament. The soccer men did then at least get to watch their football team get some means of revenge against the Wolverines on the gridiron. Typically, it’s been the other way around.
In the meantime, both men’s and women’s basketball were in action. It was not a magical time for the women, losing in surprising fashion against both Harvard 72-68 and Butler 56-46, while falling badly from their initial #25 rating to start the season. The Hoosier women shot a dismal 36% from the field and had 16-turnovers at Hinkle Fieldhouse against the Bulldogs. They had 27-turnovers against Harvard. The IU men had already topped ISUE in their opener and faced the Eastern Illinois Panthers at friendly Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The Hoosier men did not get off to a great start, trailing by five points before going on a 24-2 run early in the second half. Mgbako, Ballo and Reneau combined to make 23 of 32 shots overall and grab 22 rebounds. Indiana outscored Eastern Illinois 54-18 in the second half. They went on to win 90-55. Nakyel Shelton led the upset-minded Panthers with 17-points and made five threes to take an unexpected one-point halftime lead. They were a far cry from the team that lost by 45 at No. 24 Illinois in their season opener. IUs 24-2 run, the Hoosiers made 9 of 14 shots while the Panthers managed only one basket along with 10 missed shots. At the 12:26 mark, Malik’s Reneau’s layup made it a decisive 60-45 on one of eight assists from Trey Galloway. Overall, the Hoosiers added more magic by holding Eastern to well under 60-points. Plus, Luke
When this story began in the Bob Knight era, I wrote about a McDonalds’ promotion for free food for fans with stellar defensive performances. Finney Hopitality Group has offered a similar program, although not really aimed at defense but rather poor free throw shooting by a home opponent. “If an opposing player misses two consecutive free throws during a trip to the free-throw line, fans receive a free order of Finney Fries which will be redeemable at any Finney Hospitality Group restaurant in the state of Indiana which includes – The Tap, Yogi’s, Social Cantina, and SmokeWorks. None of these restaurants existed in Bloomington when Coach Knight and I came to town in 1971. I got my free fries from McDonalds.
The men host the South Carolina Gamecocks next. The women try to rebound against undefeated #24 Stanford. Will we see more magic and maybe get some free fries?
