What I thought was just a sciatic nerve acting up turned out to be a much bigger problem.

ACTUAL MRI IMAGE FROM MY INJURY

🏋️‍♂️ **Who I Reached Out To**:
I spoke to loads of folks to gain some insight on dealing with the injury from pro wrestlers I knew to family, friends and fans. I also asked Chace LaChance (a masseuse), Jaxton Wheeler (who’s dealt with loads of injuries), and Guido Genatto (who’s suffered from severe sciatic nerve issues). Unfortunately, their advice didn’t help, and I had already committed to some upcoming pro wrestling matches.

🤼‍♂️ **Wrestling at the State Fair**:
I wrestled two days in a row at the local state fair. The first night was painful, but manageable. For the past few months, I’d been sticking to tag team matches with minimal crazy bumps, thinking I’d stay safe. But on Day 2, things went south.

🚗 **The Painful Drive Home**:
After the match, I hobbled to my car for the 45-minute drive home. Within minutes, I couldn’t find a comfortable position and had to pull myself up by the car's roof handle to relieve the pressure on my sciatic nerve. Pure agony. I even had to cancel a side trip to visit a friend’s new place.

🛏️ **A Rough Weekend**:
I spent the weekend sleeping in short bursts—on the floor, stairs, couch—anywhere I could find even a hint of comfort. Finally, I saw a chiropractor, who said my lower back was too swollen to treat. He recommended I call my doctor in Florida for some prednisone. After just one dose, I felt a bit better and thought I was on the road to recovery.

🌿 **Optimism Crushed**:
Feeling optimistic, I decided to mow my lawn—a task I actually enjoy. My buddy from Florida was coming up, and I wanted to show him what a real lawn looks like. But that optimism didn’t last.

🏥 **The Diagnosis**:
I ended up spending three days off and on in the ER and two more visiting doctors. The verdict? A herniated disc at L5/S1.

💊 **Current Routine**:
Now, I’m spending 23.5 hours a day lying horizontally—on my back or stomach. I’m on Gabapentin, a muscle relaxer, and tons of ibuprofen. I got an epidural shot that was intense but seems to be helping. Feeling is slowly coming back in my big toe, and the cramping in my calf is easing up. I’ll start decompression therapy soon and might even try warm acupuncture. If you’ve got any advice, let me know. It’s overwhelming trying to find the right answer to get back to 100% and it seems unlikely that I'll ever get back to normal.

🎯 **Silver Lining**:
The good news? I’ve had time to watch the Olympics. I’m really into archery, swimming, soccer, basketball, and wrestling. The track & field events have been a fun distraction too. I even spent three hours watching a 273 km bike race through France, which made me miss being in Europe. 🌍

With that being said, I'm going to be horizontal and lame for the next 3 to 9 weeks at the very least. I'm going to let the steroid injection do it's thing for the next two weeks in hopes that'll relieve the issue a bunch then lots of rest I guess. Hoping by September I'm able to walk for extended periods, maybe I'll be able to do some traveling or at least get out of the house. I'm really unsure. Not even sure how to end this blog...