Reed's home and I'll post some of his pics later, but in the mean time this one actually made me lol.

Reed is with his mother taking cruise to Alaska. Took a while to get him going as his initial flight was cancelled. He finally got there however, connected with his mother and sent a selfie from the Space Needle.

Post op meeting with my surgeon went fine. X-rays say things are healing well. Was hoping my neuropathy would get better quickly but that's going to take a while if at all. Crescendo Amelia played Saturday night at the Riverside Church. Sound wasn't great but everybody had a good time.

So I'm recovering from my operation. What I thought of as the pains that were causing the irritation to my hand are gone. The shots of nerve pain that the Docs warned me about lasted 10 days and were not fun but are gone now also. I do feel that my hand is slowly getting better, the key word being slowly. I hope it doesn't take the 3 years it took me to get to this point. Update: Oh and forgot to say that my Oncologist says that my thyroid cancer seems to be well under control after my big dose of radioactive iodine a few weeks ago.

Crescendo Amelia played last night up on the island and sounded great but not that many people came. Rumor was that Amelia Island had a bunch of other things going on. I managed to get the first three songs recorded.

Not much going on. Band had their first of a few dance gigs at a church over on Riverside Saturday night. Smaller venue but it went well. Here's the poster advertising the two dance venues.

Reed ----- I’m so happy to finally be able to announce the official launch of URBAN MADE SOUNDS. What started as an idea in a coffee shop has now become a legitimate, game-changing production company. Our mission is to put the power of creativity back into the hands of all producers with world class loops and musician services. We strive to inspire the next #1 hit. Whether or not you produce music, I wanna encourage you to explore our website and maybe even pass the word along to someone who may be in that creative rut. We will also be featuring weekly blog posts and podcast episodes with tips and stories from all around the entertainment industry so stay tuned and join our email list!! MANY THANKS TO YOU FOR AT LEAST READING THIS FAR. Urban Made Sounds Urbanmadesounds.com

I've been seeing the Docs at Mayo Clinic to see if they could do what all the other docs couldn't: Figure out what's wrong with my hands and arms. Since my strength was down about 80% in my right hand I was quickly referred to a diagnostic team of Drs. Hammack and Pickleman. They pretty quickly came up with the diagnosis of a compressed nerve in my neck and the need to fuse C7 and T1. Dr Pickleman operated on me Thursday.

DESCRIPTION OF PROCEDURE The patient was brought to the operating room and placed under general endotracheal anesthesia. He was positioned supine on the operating room table. All pressure points were padded, and he was secured. The neck was then prepped and draped in the usual sterile fashion. Following confirmatory pause, a right transverse incision was made just above the clavicle. The platysma was divided and dissection was carried down between the tracheoesophageal complex and the carotid sheath into the prevertebral space. Dissection was difficult due to prior surgery and radiation to the area. This should include a difficulty level in addition to the usual procedure. Once prevertebral space was opened, intraoperative fluoroscopy confirmed our levels. Longus colli muscles were elevated and retracted to expose the C7-T1 disk space. Operating microscope was then brought into the field, and the remainder of the case was done using microsurgical techniques with the operating microscope. We began by performing a thorough diskectomy at C7-T1 using a combination of curettes and disk punches. A high-speed bur was then used to remove the posterior osteophytes at the level, as well as perform an uncinectomy on the right, thereby decompressing the right C8 nerve root. Satisfied with the decompression, the endplates were prepared and trial spacers were introduced. A 5 x 7 VG2 allograft spacer was then gently tapped into the interspace. Caspar pins, which were previously placed for distraction, were removed. A 16-mm Skyline plate was then positioned at the C7-T1 interspace. Pilot holes were drilled and 16-mm constrained screws were placed bilaterally at C7 and T1, and the locking mechanism was advanced. Intraoperative fluoroscopy confirmed good positioning of the implant. A 10-French round Jackson-Pratt drain was exited through a separate stab incision, and the wound was closed in anatomic layers.