Why I have SAFLY been MIA for a while now

[Jerry Miller]

Hello Everyone! It’s been a long time! Unfortunately, I had to stop fishing for few years now. This also limited everything else I was able to do as well. Unfortunately, I’ve had to stop fishing, and it has been torturous not being able to fish; especially Musky fishing, one of most loved things in my life.  
   I knew that my back was getting bad from the symptoms that i have been dealing with. It has been absolutely debilitating.  It’s a long story as to why my back issues became so severe, and went untreated for such a long time, but summing it up in two words-Worker’s Comp. There was a perfect storm of medical issues that mounted(that also found that I also have prostate cancer. Crazy right?!) and led to a MRI that found that I had severe where excessive bone growth led to severe stenosis(narrowing) of my spinal column. This caused, what my Surgeon said, this is one of the worst cases of spinal cord compression that he has every seen. This required the emergency surgery to save the use of my legs, or I would have permanently ended up in a wheelchair. In the end of May I underwent an emergency quadruple decompression laminectomy surgery of my L2-L5 vertebrae, where the removed the accumulation of bone growth that built up, and the 4(in layman’s terms, the dorsal points of my spine on the 4  vertebrae; in medical terms, the Process Majors of each of the 4 vertebrae. The Surgeon said they had to remove much more bone growth than they expected, so they had to cut through much more muscles in my lower back than expected, so the recovery will take much longer then I was originally quoted. I am being told that it will take a year, and possibly more, before I experience whatever results I will get from the surgery, at least the extreme spinal cord compression was caught before I lost the use of my legs.

    As far as the prostate cancer, it was agreed by all the Docs that the urgent need, for the back surgery, took precedence over the slower growing prostate cancer, and after I am recovered enough, I will be starting the radiation treatment targeting the prostate cancer cells.      
   Please say some prayers, so everything works out for the positive. I truly miss everything to do regarding Musky fishing, and next to setting a hook on a Godzilla sized Musky, I sincerely miss the fellowship with all of you at the MNA! I am praying that I can eventually get back to Musky fishing, and getting back to NMA meetings ASAP!

Thank you all, in advance, for your prayers!

Jerry Miller

[Jerry Miller]

No idea how the subject of the discussion changed, but it was supposed to say,

“Why I have been MIA for a while”. No idea

hiw the SAFELY got in there?

[Scott McKee]

Jerry, the second you get better from all of this -- and you are going to do exactly that -- a Niagara Queen will be waiting for you. My heart is with you, friend. 

[Tony Scime]

We miss you Jerry. Take care of yourself.

[Stephen Glassic]

Jerry, Good to hear from you. Good luck with your recovery and I hope to see you in the 2026 Top Ten!!

I may want to talk to you because of my brother's issues with his back. His issue involves a narrowing of the spinal column but with other symptoms rather than pain.