I want to thank the Hawaii Association of School Librarians (HASL) for honoring me earlier today (April 24) as the organization’s Outstanding Library Service Award winner this year.
As a spouse of a former librarian and retired professor, I simply have been a helping hand at DOE workshops and American Association of School Librarians and American Library Association conventions over the decades. That’s what a spouses does: kokua when needed.
So arigato to Sandy Yamamoto, Carolyn Kirio and M.B. Ogawa for nominating me, and mahalo to librarians past and present for decades of support and aloha. And a shout-out to HASL co-presidents Danielle Fujii and Maricar Kawasaki for their successful virtual conference via Zoom this morning.
Danielle Fujii, Wayne Harada and Maricar Kawasaki.
Seems a lot of people have back pain issues. It’s a common ailment among the elderly and a regular conversation topic.
I’m lucky, however; a lot of folks have my back, supportive of a medical procedure I underwent last Tuesday (March 30) at Queen’s Medical Center.
I’ve struggled with chronic lower back pain for a couple of decades, but always dodged the customary back surgery … because many people, including my primary spine doctor, said to seek alternate means to manage pain since the recovery could be as painful as the operation.
So when I located a pain management doctor who introduced me to a procedure where a battery could be inserted into my body – a stimulator that could manage pain through electronic charges wired to the battery – I signed up.
During a trial week, an external battery bandaged to my back and hooked to wires placed under my skin; the test confirmed I was good candidate for the real deal.
So now I’m recuperating at home, feeling like a bionic man with the battery near my butt and wiring inserted in my spine.
It’s been a curious challenge since. The pain recurs, but I can’t discern if it’s from the wounds of the incision, or my regular back aches, doing its occasional dance. I think it’s a combination of both.
I imagine the pain levels may see-saw, but I have a device that resembles a mini iPhone, which can regulate the power of the jolts: up when needed, down when not.
This new procedure means I won’t have to go in for cortisone shots every three months, which was a regular thing. The shots worked, but the level of relief returned sooner than later.
I’ll have the bandaging removed next Wednesday (April 7) then monitor life with a hidden implant.
This whole episode at least brought a LOL moment, from my cousin emailed me after I sent a photo of me on a gurney at Queen’s prior to being wheeled into the operating room. When she saw me in the required blue head net, she commented: “All I could think about when I saw your pic was, ‘Everything is better with blue bonnet on it…”
Wayne Harada — with hair net and face mask — at Queen’s Hospital Same Day Surgery.
