Animal Anecdotes 30

Animal Anecdote 30

It was on that beautiful first real spring day of the year and I would work on my day off to get my garden in shape by spreading manure from a pit into my trailer to put on it before digging it in when I felt something happen to my back. Ouch! The real pain didn’t amount to much until the following day when I began to look for help. I knew I could count on a friend at the Yale University School of Medicine, Dr. Ned Shutkin, a Professor of orthopedics for advice. “Go to bed for 6 weeks and it should be alright.” He explained that backs can be like a shoelace that with little movement like a shoelace that can break can cause great pain or like a piece of paper folded that is OK while intact but when it finally brakes is a problem.
I had a month’s appointment. No way could I go to bed for 6 weeks but I did take it easy and did suffer with virtually any movement at any time. There were stabbing pains from trying to get up from lying or sitting. Two weeks of suffering when one morning after feeding my flock of sheep I strolled away to look at the garden area that would not be tilled that spring. I didn’t have any idea my ram would follow me and so was surprised when he charged and butted my back side at the base of my spine. It was a well placed butt that tossed me into the air and down in a heap.
There was terrible pain again and I was convinced in my own mind that my back had been half broken and now that ram finished it off. After hobbling home I lay down for a while when my wife called me to lunch. Strangely there was no pain on rising and walking up a staircase to lunch but I had been convinced that my back had to be worse from the butt.
I suddenly realized my back was better. Not perfect but without pain. After mulling that situation over I did not want my friend, Dr. Shutkin to think his theory of the shoelace breaking was valid so I wrote him a letter. After telling him what had happened in the last paragraph I said,” For a nominal fee I will permit you to send some of your better patients through my sheep pasture.”
I had my usual garden.

Next: More ramming.