Results, Mama and Brittany

I visited with the chiropractor yesterday and got the low down on my MRI results. All in all, it was not a good report. There seems to be a trifecta of issues I will have to deal with. First, there is a herniation in the disk between L7 and the sacrum vertebrae. In and of itself that would not be an issue. The bulge is listed as 3-5 millimeters. If that were the only problem it would be very easy to deal with. Second, since I am a little older now the disk is somewhat dehydrated – meaning it has shrunk. What used to be a12 mm cushion had now regressed to only 9 mm. Thirdly, and probably the real cause of the impingement is a “significant” arthritic damage. It was measured to be between 7 and 9 mm. Adding those numbers up, I have a nerve squeezing through an opening that is, at best, only slightly smaller than the nerve itself. There are several options but none of them deal with all three of the causal agents simultaneously.

Most significantly, I can change my diet, lose weight and add the herbs to my daily routine that help the body deal with arthritis. Additionally, I can exercise and strengthen my lower back to increase flexibility and limit further damage to the area. On the non-medical treatment side, I can go through spinal decompression to ease the disk injury and open the passage through which the nerve passes. That is probably a given at this point. On the medical side, I can go through pain management and treat the injured area with steroids injected directly into the offended area, via epidural IV. That would ease the swelling and give a temporary relief but is not a real solution unless it significantly reduces the herniation. Last, and least favorable, is to go through surgery to either fuse the vertebrae or clean out the damage I have done to myself over the years. I have an appointment with the medical doctor some time either Friday next week or Monday of the week following. I will get her opinion then. For now, I will take the long road of diet and exercise – which is something I need to do regardless.

I was at the chiropractor’s office for an hour and a half yesterday evening. Between the time we spent talking about the prognosis, the time I spent on the decompression table and the time I spent with a cold pack and the TINS unit, I got home just in time to get cleaned up and changed for church. I thought I was going to have to feed the animals after church but I met Victoria as I was leaving and she said she would take care of the feeding chores. The animals miss Mama when she is gone.

Mama comes home today. She is not thrilled about the drive in either direction but I like to think it is more enjoyable for her coming towards home – and me. She and Brittany got out of the hospital early yesterday morning. Brittany is doing well and seems to be in good spirits. The twins were doing very well last night as I talked with Mama after I got home from church. They were kicking up a storm in Brittany’s belly. Mama was enjoying that immensely. The two of them, Mama and Britany that is, were out in the back yard trying to repair a wind-damaged fence. They borrowed a screw gun from a neighbor and were repositioning fencing boards that had been blown off in a recent storm. With the weather predictions for today I would have waited to see if that was the only section in need of repair. But the fence separates the house from a busy thoroughfare and Brittany does not like the thought of easy access to the property form a public road; not that I disagree with that apprehension on her part. I would love to have witnessed the remodeling project as the two of them tackled it.

Mama told me that when she was in the house alone – Brittany was in the hospital overnight – the back door blew open in the middle of the night. That was as near terrifying an event as she has been through recently. Mama checked out the house and secured the door with every available lock, deadbolt and latch. Fortunately, Lucy (Brittany’s Chi-weenie) was on high alert so I know Mama would have been protected by fierce canine furor.

Continue to pray for Brittany and the twins. We need as many weeks as the Lord will give us in utero.