On Monday, Jadie and I have normal days at work and home, and we have the "usual" chiropractor appointment at 5:15pm.
***Major Detour***
We have gotten to a point where Jadie is beyond fed up with the pain from whatever is going on with his sciatic nerve that has been shooting pain down into his leg for nearly 2 1/2 months now. He's been seeing the chiropractor for 8 weeks now. In addition, I decided to design and implement a new budget system last weekend. In designing the budget, I looked back over our last few months of expenses. This was a reality check for me. We have spent a small fortune in co-pays over the last 8 weeks. Fortunately, we do have insurance to cover some of it, but still...a $20 co-pay for each visit, 2-3 times per week. This is getting ridiculous. Needless to say, this realization and the stress of trying to figure out what we're supposed to do about this whole scenario has been taking a toll on my "positive thoughts" bank.
***Ok, back on track***
So we went to the chiropractor on Monday at 5:15pm. Thankfully, Jadie's chiropractor is a Christian man who has proved to be easy to talk to. Jadie voiced his frustration with the unrelenting pain. I voiced my frustrations with the financial strain of the situation. He responded by saying that he had already planned to order an MRI with our consent. Finally, we made some headway. So, we secured an MRI appointment for Thursday (Valentine's Day).
On Tuesday, Jadie had another painful day at work and I enjoyed a quick lunch with my sister before making the trek to the dreaded grocery store.
On Wednesday, Jadie had another painful day at work and I ran a few errands. Melanie came over a little later in the afternoon for a visit. I baked a heart cake for Jadie, Caleb, and I to enjoy for Valentine's Day.
***Major Detour***
We have gotten to a point where Jadie is beyond fed up with the pain from whatever is going on with his sciatic nerve that has been shooting pain down into his leg for nearly 2 1/2 months now. He's been seeing the chiropractor for 8 weeks now. In addition, I decided to design and implement a new budget system last weekend. In designing the budget, I looked back over our last few months of expenses. This was a reality check for me. We have spent a small fortune in co-pays over the last 8 weeks. Fortunately, we do have insurance to cover some of it, but still...a $20 co-pay for each visit, 2-3 times per week. This is getting ridiculous. Needless to say, this realization and the stress of trying to figure out what we're supposed to do about this whole scenario has been taking a toll on my "positive thoughts" bank.
***Ok, back on track***
So we went to the chiropractor on Monday at 5:15pm. Thankfully, Jadie's chiropractor is a Christian man who has proved to be easy to talk to. Jadie voiced his frustration with the unrelenting pain. I voiced my frustrations with the financial strain of the situation. He responded by saying that he had already planned to order an MRI with our consent. Finally, we made some headway. So, we secured an MRI appointment for Thursday (Valentine's Day).
On Tuesday, Jadie had another painful day at work and I enjoyed a quick lunch with my sister before making the trek to the dreaded grocery store.
On Wednesday, Jadie had another painful day at work and I ran a few errands. Melanie came over a little later in the afternoon for a visit. I baked a heart cake for Jadie, Caleb, and I to enjoy for Valentine's Day.
On Thursday, Jadie had his MRI at 8:30am. I should mention that we had been praying since Monday for a clear-cut obvious reason for Jadie's pain to be revealed by this MRI. After the MRI, Jadie got a haircut and we visited my favorite sit-down restaurant, Cheddar's, for a nice lunch together. We rented a couple of movies (since Jadie had Friday off for another doctor's appointment and then it would be the weekend) and returned home to cozy up on the couch.
On Friday, we had an appointment with our family doctor to consult with him about Jadie's sciatic nerve pain. Although we had set the appointment even before we knew there would be an MRI, we were now hoping that he would be able to get the results and advise us based on the what the results would reveal. So, here's the low-down. Jadie's L5 disc is dried out, making it shorter in height than it should be (this normally happens with age, which is why little old ladies are so, well, LITTLE). Jadie, however, is only 28. We neglected to ask about what may have caused this for him. In addition to the drying out, the L5 disc has bulged out into the hollow area where the nerve passes through. The MRI shows that the disc bulge actually appears to make contact with the nerve. Well, it doesn't take Einstein brains to figure out that this kind of set up would be the source of such excruciating pain! But to confirm our hypothesis, the doctor said, "This appears to be the clear cause of your leg pain." Just what we had been praying for (along with others)! What to do next...several options...1. See a physical therapist, massage therapist, or chiropractor (not really an option since we've been doing this for 8 weeks!)...2. Order an epidural steroid shot to reduce the swelling in the area from the irritation (which would need to be repeated each time the pain flares us again). Remember, this pain has been unrelenting for 2 1/2 months...or 3. Visit with a neurosurgeon and consider spinal surgery. This should be a permanent solution, but not the most appealing.
On Friday, we had an appointment with our family doctor to consult with him about Jadie's sciatic nerve pain. Although we had set the appointment even before we knew there would be an MRI, we were now hoping that he would be able to get the results and advise us based on the what the results would reveal. So, here's the low-down. Jadie's L5 disc is dried out, making it shorter in height than it should be (this normally happens with age, which is why little old ladies are so, well, LITTLE). Jadie, however, is only 28. We neglected to ask about what may have caused this for him. In addition to the drying out, the L5 disc has bulged out into the hollow area where the nerve passes through. The MRI shows that the disc bulge actually appears to make contact with the nerve. Well, it doesn't take Einstein brains to figure out that this kind of set up would be the source of such excruciating pain! But to confirm our hypothesis, the doctor said, "This appears to be the clear cause of your leg pain." Just what we had been praying for (along with others)! What to do next...several options...1. See a physical therapist, massage therapist, or chiropractor (not really an option since we've been doing this for 8 weeks!)...2. Order an epidural steroid shot to reduce the swelling in the area from the irritation (which would need to be repeated each time the pain flares us again). Remember, this pain has been unrelenting for 2 1/2 months...or 3. Visit with a neurosurgeon and consider spinal surgery. This should be a permanent solution, but not the most appealing.
Friday afternoon we visited the chiropractor again. He looked over the MRI results and said our next step would be to make an appointment with a neurosurgeon. Sound familiar??? He recommended 2 names, both of which were our family doctor's top 2 recommendations. So, there you have it. Surgery of the spine. Jadie has an appointment in the afternoon on February 26th. Yes, we too are very excited about this. Honestly, we're both nervous. Please keep praying for Jadie as he prepares emotionally for this procedure. Pray for me to be a good support and a loving encouragement. There is a small chance that the neurosurgeon will recommend another course of action, but both the family doctor and the chiropractor believe that surgery will be the way.
Yikes! That's crazy, but somehow not unexpected. Girl, we'll be praying!!
ReplyDeletehere are my thoughts....i will pray for physical healing. why not? our God is much bigger than this.
ReplyDeleteI love ya'll!!!
Agreed! Thanks sis!
ReplyDelete