The Circle of Life

This was on the wall of the Neurosurgeon's office

Around four years ago I started to experience some real back pain every morning. I would wake up, barely able to move around. At first I blamed it on the dogs. Certainly being twisted into a pretzel so that Chandler could stretch out on the end of the bed while I slept, must have been causing my back to hurt so much. So Chandler was banished to his own bed on the floor next to my bed. It didn't help. I then figured it must be the mattress. The nearly new king sized mattress that Mark had bought just a few years before must be the problem. So the mattress was banished and a nice new and expensive queen sized mattress was substituted. The king was too big for our bedroom anyway. The new mattress was nice and firm, and guaranteed to be the answer to my back problems. It wasn't. I finally went to a doctor and asked if there was anything I could do about my morning back pain. Long story short, one X-Ray, one MRI, and one visit to a neurosurgeon later I was told that I am old, get used to it. I was referred to a pain doctor, presumably for pills, and to physical therapy. Also known as exercise. I'm not a big fan of pills, so I guess I'll try the physical therapy. Oh, and there was one more thing the neurosurgeon told me. Lose some weight. That forty pound baby I'm carrying isn't helping my back.

Also on the wall. WTF you talkin' bout Willis?