May-2023 update Garry McGivern’s regular monthly update. I was hoping to spare you all May’s monthly update by being away on my bike, but I’m staying at home in light of what’s happened over the past couple of weeks. But at least with me staying home, you don’t have to put up with me drivelling on every day and boring you with daily updates!
The month started well with my ride around Brittany, and it was good to put my new Irish passport to good use. It had taken a long time to get and wasn’t cheap if you add up all the costs. But it was well worth it, and I look forward to getting plenty more use out of it. If you remember, I only had a week to spare cycling around France and had to return home because of some hospital appointments, which, if you don’t know, didn’t go too well. And I’ve been diagnosed with Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy (DCM). I explain more about that in a YouTube video. And there’s a link to Myelopathy.org on the front page of the website.
The Future
I’m still not totally sure what DCM means for me and how it will impact my lifestyle in the long and short term. But I’ve been given a list of things to watch out for. I hope to learn more next week when I return to the hospital. But from what I’ve read, DCM is like a spinal injury in slow motion. Let’s hope it’s very slow, and I can continue on as usual for many years.
While I was having all these tests and scans, I was also diagnosed with carpal tunnel in both wrists. I was told I could have them operated on or have some injections, which I presume were steroid injections. But as they don’t worry me, I decided to leave them as they are for now. Especially as every time I have an operation, it doesn’t seem to work out too well. When I had a slipped disc in 2013, I had two operations and an injection, and none of them worked. And, of course, we all know about the ongoing saga of my hip! And besides, I think I’d rather save the steroid injections for my hip, as I think you can only have so many.
Not a very cheerful update, and I apologise for that. But I’m optimistic for the future and hope to have many more miles in the saddle. You don’t get rid of me that easily!
