07/12/2015 11u09. The end of an era, a new start en een recordpoging (nee, niet die van langste topic-titel maar een lovenswaardige poging tot langste topic-post.)

Ik ben een kalf! Een groot lomp kalf! Deze stelling is zelfs een understatement en een regelrechte belediging voor de echte kalveren van deze wereld.
Ik heb mij totaal misremd bij een vluchtheuvel met desastreuze gevolgen. De gevolgen waren meteen na het gebeuren niet merkbaar, maar een ijverige ambtenaar van de keuring heeft de gevolgen opgemerkt: een scheur in mijn chassis met als gevolg een rood formulier met opschrift “verboden in verkeer”.

Volledig terecht afgekeurd dus en voor alle duidelijkheid, ik ga de laatste jaren in Brecht naar de keuring en moet zeggen dat ze daar altijd vriendelijk en correct zijn, zowel bij goed- als afkeuring van mijn Audi of Porsche. Deze ambtenaar was er ene waarbij je meteen het gevoel had dat hij extra ging zoeken, wat hij ook deed. Ik stond mijn kas eigenlijk al op te vreten maar de moraal van het verhaal is dat ik toch wel content ben dat het niet over het hoofd is gezien. Ok, dat vervolgens iedere mechanieker uitgenodigd wordt om een kijkje te komen nemen voelde een beetje als zout in de wonde strooien maar de essentie blijft dezelfde: ook al heb je het gevoel dat je met een “kloot” te maken hebt, de “kloot” kan wel is iets vinden dat je voor een ramp kan behoeden. Hail to the TC, dus.

De controleur wist te vermelden dat het “geen eenvoudige herstelling “ zou zijn en dat er terug een geometrie meting zou moeten gebeuren. Ik opper vervolgens dat ik van plan dan maar een body off restauratie te doen waarop ik meteen het nodige advies meekrijg en de man zich meteen behulpzaam opstelt. Maar goed, body -off of niet?

Nadat de eerste teleurstelling verbeten was ben ik de WSM gaan bekijken en het is heel eenvoudig, er is geen keuze zoals uit de pagina’s van de WSM blijkt. Let vooral op het item “removing” Body-off dus. We speelden al langer met het idee maar ja dan zit je gedurende x-aantal jaar zonder fun-car. Bovendien wacht mij volgend jaar, als onze felgeroemde sociale zekerheid meewil tenminste en ik de zegen krijg van de NV België, een operatie. In 2016 zal ik mij meer dan waarschijnlijk moeten toeleggen op revalidatie.
Kwestie van compleet te zijn en aangezien ik de vraag al heb gekregen geef ik even de mededeling mee die op mijn FB-pagina stond aangaande mijn “conditie”:

“Please read the full story!
Well boys and girls, here’s the news. There’s a good chance I will recover from my condition after surgery. Yesterday I had an extensive evaluation and Dr. G.J. Sonneveld is going, and I quote, “200% for it.” So will I! A date can’t be set yet because of legal shit cq. health care insurance has got to give the “go ahead”. Despite living in a unified Europe I have to prove to Belgian health care insurance that this surgical intervention can only be done in Holland. I don’t think they can do anything else but approve since Dr. G.J. Sonneveld is the only surgeon in the world with the knowledge and ability regarding my condition.
I’ll try to shed some light on “my condition”.

1.“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
I’m suffering from “focal dystonia”.

2. “What the fuck is that?” (I can assure U that most doctors have the same question.)
In focal hand dystonia the fingers either curl into the palm or extend outward without control. In musicians, the condition is referred to as Musician’s Focal Dystonia, or simply musician’s dystonia. Writers tend to suffer from this condition too.
I’ve been suffering from this condition for about 7 years now. It started out with my middle finger extending out while playing ring finger-pinky combinations. I went to the doctor and he asked me to pick up a pencil and coffee cup and then he referred to question 1 though I don’t think he used the F-word. Anyway this was the start of a 5 year journey with every doctor, chiropractor or physical therapist asking the same question and trying to help out with something that didn’t help.

3.Why is this so unknown?
Basically U can have it too but Focal dystonia will most typically affect those who rely on fine motor skills (musicians, writers, surgeons, etc.) One to two percent of musicians have this condition. If you are a gardner U won’t have a problem with it.

4.What’s the cause.
This is what wikipedia says about it:
“The cause of dystonia is not precisely understood. Misfiring of neurons in the sensorimotor cortex, a thin layer of neural tissue covering the brain, is thought to cause contractions. The source of this misfiring may be a result of impaired inhibitory mechanisms during muscle contraction. When the brain tells a given muscle to contract, it simultaneously silences muscles that would oppose the intended movement. In dystonia, it appears that the ability of the brain to inhibit the surrounding muscles is impaired, leading to loss of selectivity.”
Basically the brain is confused but here’s the deal: Dr. J. leijnse has discovered that this confusion is caused by a physical condition. I’ll try to explain a bit. When we are still embryonic our hand is a pallet: basically one big finger, one nerve, one tendon. As we progress fingers are shaped: skin dies, nerve tissue and tendon tissue dies and this leads to 5 fingers with 5 nerves and 5 tendons. In some hands not all tendon tissue dies. For example: the tendon between the 4th and 5th finger stays connected (that’s my case).
Musicians have a strongly developed ability, finger independence, and for years the brain develops a compensatory mechanism for motor control deficits, in this case caused by tendon connections.
This compensatory mechanism is actually a downward spiral. One compensation leads to another and to another and so on until there’s no more room for compensation.
Remember I told U about my middle finger extending out (no I wasn’t being rude
well that was just the first compensation. After a few years my little finger started curling inwards as U can see in the picture.
I learned to play with 3 fingers and that kept me going a bit but during the recording of our “only the dead” album my third finger started to do the same. I feared I wouldn’t be able to finish it but luckily I did and it’s a record I’m proud of I must say

So basically since then I have two functioning fingers and I had to give up playing live. I don’t have a problem teaching because when moving slow I can prevent this motion a bit.
Dr. J.leijnse and Dr. G.J. Sonneveld are pioneers in their work. The discovery of this tendon connections is groundbreaking and actually very deathmetal. They literally cut open hundreds of arms (I din’t ask if the rest of the corpse was still attached.)
Sadly enough due to the small amount of people suffering from this condition there’s hardly any attention and above all hardly any money for their work. U can read the inspiring story of their work here (in Dutch)

http://www.trouw.nl/…/Als-vingeroefeningen-niet-meer-helpen…

5.What will happen now and how long will it take.
During surgery the connection between the 4th and 5th finger tendons will be removed and my arm will get “cleaned” Playing guitar with this condition creates a lot of debris in the arm. Surgery will take two hours and the day after I start revalidation, mostly exercises to prevent the formation of scar tissue. These exercises will be daily routine ‘till my dying day.
It will take about 6 to 12 months before my brain is fully recovered. No it’s not brain surgery but the brain has to write a new “control circuit”, it has to learn to use finger 3 and 4 again after they are made fully independent. Teaching guitar will not be a problem during this period (so no worries there students)
and there’s a good chance that I can pick up axe duties in Battalion again already during revalidation.

6.Why did I keep quit about this for so long.
That’s an easy one. FEAR! This condition scared the shit out of me.
First of al it took 6 years before meeting a doctor that said: I know what’s wrong with you. It’s hard to express what it means when you’re finally understood after talking to walls for so long. Dr. G.J. Sonnneveld gave me a clear explanation of my condition and a glimmer of hope during our first conversation last year in June. In march this year I did the the tests at the parental house of Dr. J. leijnse who had to set up his test-lab there because of funds being cut all the time. yes, we musicians can go and fuck ourselves mainly because no one really understands this condition. But worst of all : no one seems to understand what it does to an artist.
Becoming a musician was a calling not a choice. I gladly followed this calling since music can make me feel and it’s one of the few things that can make me cry.
I’m extremely passionate about what I do and about music in general, facing the thought of loosing the ability to create music was facing my biggest nightmare not just because music is the way I make my living but music is a way of life to me.
The last two years I’ve been a mental amputee because of my condition and I want to express my endless gratitude towards Dr. G.J. Sonneveld and Dr. Leijnse for their groundbreaking work, they do understand what it means to a musician. I also want to thank my friends and family for putting up with a man that’s hard to live with in general but even harder to live with during the last two years. No need to worry, I won’t become an easy man in the future. I’m still an artist and dysfunctional in general society.

An incredible amount of thanx goes out to my fellow members in Battalion for having the patience to wait and for showing that patience once again while waiting for a final date. I’ll be back boys.

I hope anyone who reads this, shares this story on their page. It might raise some hope for other people with this condition (I’ve included a list of people at the bottom)
We ain’t there yet, (After all there’s still a lot to come. Surgery , revalidation etc. and I still have to get a final date and approval from health insurance. A small note for the people at OZ: in my younger days I played a fair amount of cricket. I still do have my cricket bat and it is functional!) but now that I’m hopeful I’ve found the courage to tell the story.
List of people with focal dystonia:
Andrew Dawes, noted violinist and co-founder of the Orford String Quartet.
Christian Münzner, lead guitar of progressive extreme metal band Obscura
Leon Fleisher, an international concert pianist, suffered from this affliction in his right hand beginning in the 1960s and switched to only left hand playing. In the 2000s, he regained use of his right hand and recommenced performing and recording with two hands.
Alex Klein, formerly the first oboist of the Chicago Symphony
Ernestine Whitman, former member of the Atlanta Symphony and currently a professor of flute at Lawrence University
Keith Emerson, pianist and keyboard player
Warren Deck, tubist and former member of the New York Philharmonic, was diagnosed with focal dystonia in his upper lip, which ended his playing career.
Dominic Frasca, Guitarist
Gary Graffman, pianist, who changed to performing only with his left hand.
Billy McLaughlin, guitarist, switched to playing left-handed when afflicted with dystonia.
Liona Boyd, Canadian classical guitarist, known as the “First Lady of the Guitar”, retired from the concert stage for six years in 2003, due to focal dystonia that affected her right hand. She worked to retrain her right hand and since 2009 she has been performing again as a guitarist, singer and songwriter.
Andy Billups, bass guitarist with British rock group, The Hamsters, has made a partial recovery; he plays by using modified guitar plectrums.
David Leisner, classical guitarist, has recovered the full use of his hand after a decade of disability.
Badi Assad, Brazilian singer-guitarist, was diagnosed with focal dystonia in 1999; she eventually recovered and resumed her career.
Tom Adams, bluegrass banjo player, has focal dystonia in his right hand, and has switched to the guitar.
Scott Adams, the writer of the Dilbert comics, has focal dystonia of the right hand, which impedes his artwork.
Scott Devine, bass player and founder of Scott’s Bass Lessons has focal dystonia which requires him to wear a glove on his left hand when playing bass.
Stuart Cassells, founder of the bagpipe rock group Red Hot Chilli Pipers, announced focal dystonia in September 2011; he has left the band.
Apostolos Paraskevas, Greek-American classical guitarist-composer, was struck by focal dystonia to his right hand in 2009. He fully recovered in 2013 after 7,000 hours of personal work in re-constructing his technique. He was able to decode the condition as an unconscious behavioral habit and returned to performing professionally again. His rehabilitation was based on reducing tension in his hand and retraining his brain through proper, relaxed hand movements, practiced extensively. His article A Classical Guitarist’s Story of Recovery from Focal Dystonia will be published in London on the Classical Guitar Magazine.
Steve Dilling, bluegrass banjo player and founding member of the group, IIIrd Tyme Out. He was forced to retire from the group due to focal dystonia.
Jang Jae-in, korean singer-songwriter and guitarist diagnosed with dystonia in her left hand in 2012. in 2015 in You Hee-yeol’s Sketchbook she announced that she quit playing guitar.”

Dat “de ziekenkas” 3 maanden tijd heeft om een besluit te nemen is op zijn zachts gezegd hemeltergend te noemen vooral omdat ik zelf aangeef niet werkonbekwaam te willen zijn. We hebben ondertussen 3 aanbiedingen voor een Europesche Tour moeten weigeren btw. Dus ieder dag is er 1 verloren. Dat ik een eigen visie heb op ons geweldig landje en zijn sociale zekerheid zal mij wel gepermitteerd zijn zeker.

Anyhow: body-off dus waarmee ik hoop ergens in 2017 een lege kast aan te leveren bij een zeer gewaardeerd forum-lid, sponsor, kenner etc. 🙂

Een boodschap aan alle forumgangers die zich afvragen of het wel de moeite is om het geld er in te steken en al die moeite te doen: Hét moeilijkste moment in heel de historie was niet het moment van afkeuring maar de reactie van mijn wederhelft toen ik ‘s avonds opperde dat het wel is het einde van de shark kon zijn. Ze had zich de hele tijd al kranig gehouden maar bij het aanhoren van die woorden begon ze te huilen en antwoordde “maar dat is de Lizzy-auto”. Daarmee is alles gezegd ivm. doen of niet doen.
We geven onszelf tussen de 5 en 7 jaar om de wagen terug als nieuw te krijgen. Gaan we dan 7 jaar zonder fun-car zitten? Neen, want moeder de vrouw is compleet akkoord met de body-off die een deftige inspanning gaat worden maar (vrouwen hebben altijd een maar:) er moet dus een fun-car bijkomen.

“Destruction leads to a very rough road but it also breeds creation” zong Anthony Kiedis van de Red hot Chili peppers en dus is een marktonderzoek naar een Porsche Boxster 987 begonnen. De bedoeling is om ergens in de herfst van 2016 tot een aanschaf over te gaan. Het moet ne zwarte zijn, onderhoudshistorie gekend en max. 100.000 km. (eisen van moeder de vrouw) Budget 20 -25.000€.

Voila daarmee heb ik mijn bijdrage aan mijn resto-topic en aan de “ervaringen keuringsstations”, “ik snap jullie nu volledig” en “Porsche gezocht” topics geleverd.
Rest mij nog een bijdrage te leveren in de Ranting topic

2015: Lizzy laten inslapen, grootvaders begraven, vechten met de NV België om gezond te mogen zijn en te mogen werken én 07/12/2015 11u09, the end of an era, de platen van de shark afgeleverd bij de verzekering.
Aan 2015 de, RSZ en alle andere splinters in mijn gat,de volgende boodschap:
“Alterius non sit qui suus esse potest”.
Vanaf 22/01 te lezen op mijne onderarm als ik mijne middenvinger opsteek 😀

Muziek verzacht de zeden en is in dit geval nog een goei mop ook

P.S: Hoe zit dat nu, heb ik een record?