I just got the following via email from Harald (and I thought I had problems, whew!)

Dear Subscribers

It is quite a long time since I published Hatari Times # 23, and many
of you have been wondering what is going on.

Last year, while splitting firewood in the old fashioned way of steel
wedge + sledgehammer, a steel chip large like a fingernail but thin
as a razor blade, came flying with bullet velocity, went 4" deep into
my upper leg muscles, missing the main artery by less than 1/2". -
That was my previous year's bad luck, which caused me to miss the
late season in Africa.

My spine problem had built-up slowly but continuously over the last 2
years - and was always miss-diagnosed as a muscular problem. I had
been in the scanner tube several times over the last 2 years, but
they obviously looked for other things, which they could not find.
After the long flights back from SCI-Convention in Reno my back and
right leg became ever worse. I got injections into my back-strap to
no avail and carried on as usual. Built a couple of guns until it
became unbearable in late June. Went to see my local doctor on
Wednesday, who again said that my main blackstrap muscle causes the
pain. Friday morning I collapsed within 5 minutes or so, as I
suddenly could not stand - and sitting down was even worse. Just made
it from the garden into the house and went flat on the ground, where
my wife, who was out shopping, found me a few hours later in an
advanced state of shock, just trembling all over due to the
horrendous pain. She called emergency ambulance, which had to carry
me out through a window. Now, it’s obviously not a good idea to enter
any hospital through emergency entrance on a Friday afternoon,
particularly not on a very hot summer day when lots of elderly people
arrive with breathing/heart problems. I don't recall what they gave
me, but sure as hell, it did NOT ease the intense pain. Maybe they
were not allowed to give morphine in the emergency rooms (I later got
plenty of morphine!). Eventually I was taken through a scanner again,
and after a few more hours, me still trembling with pain, a doctor
came and told me its a ruptured fiber ring of disc L4/5 pinching the
main nerve down the right leg. My wife though I had gone insane by
the pain when I told her that this is really good news! Seriously, I
said a spine disc problem is every day's routine. Once they manage to
ease the pain they will sort out the problem shortly. By that I was
only partly right, as they never managed to make me reasonably
painless, and after a full week and lots of more scans, neurologist
tests and spine injections, they said I had to be transferred to a
special clinic in our gun making capital of Liege for specialized
surgery. After 9 days of lying like paralyzed (due to really
unbearable pain) my strong leg muscles had turned into soft pudding
(never thought that this could happen so fast!). Surgery was
positive, and a week later I went back home. It took me 6 weeks of
daily training to get back on my legs. Now, I am doing a daily walk
of 4 miles through the forest in 45 minutes, which is a fairly brisk
walk. Alas, my spine is still extremely sensitive to pressure. After
standing, walking or worse sitting for 45 to 50 minutes my back feels
as if somebody puts a 100 lb bag of cement on my shoulders. The
surgeon had warned me that it would take a very long time for the
spine to recover completely, and if I try to rush things I would end
up again in hospital very soon, with the bitter possibility of
quitting my job as a gun maker forever! So, by force majeur, I have
to take it easy and slowly. I had built an interesting .600 Nitro
bolt-action rifle in spring, plus a beautiful .500 Jeffery and .404
Jeffery in summer. I was just about to start another .500 plus a
traditional Mauser/Jeffery trio .404 + .333 + .280 Jeffery + 2 more
Newton Arms LeverBolt straight pull rifles when disaster struck me.
My legs are fit for elephant hunting again, but I certainly cannot
get on a plane or even on a longer vehicle ride for 3 more months.
However, I am positive that all will be O.K. by December. I will
definitely attend the SCI-Convention in Reno 2010, sharing booth #
129 with my friends from Buffalo Hunters Australia as usual.

Thank you so much for your patience.

Yours Sincerely

Harald Wolf, Publisher & Gun Maker

Dogcat,
Thanks for sending the e-mail for all of us to see. I knew about his wood splitting accident but not his back. I wish Harald a quick and full recovery.
Randy

Here is hoping there is a speedy recovery.

Get well soon Harald!!

Love your magazine!!!

All the best,
Jack