Stuck in the Middle or On the Road Again?

Some of my gallstones. My pinky finger
is in the shot for size comparison.

Well, my surgery went well. Since then I'm not sure if I am stuck in the middle of recovery or if I am on the road to recovery in the slow lane. 9 gall stones were retrieved from my gall bladder last Tuesday & my gall bladder was removed. The surgeon mentioned that my gall bladder was also filled with more of a mucous substance instead of the normal bile which means it wasn't really functioning anymore. Are you grossed out yet? If not, here are the photos to make some of you excited and others turn away in disgust!

 

And this is what my insides look like!

The laproscopic surgery was pretty cool, but in order to do the surgery they filled my abdomen up with CO2 gas. It was pretty painful waiting for those gases to move out the first couple days. Recovery for the first six days was pretty much on schedule.  Starting Monday, I've kindof fallen off the recovery scale a bit as most foods beyond rice & yoghurt seems to give fantom gall bladder attack pain. This morning's attack seemed to be brought on by a handful of saltine crackers. I think what brought on the downslide was a chicken soup which was the non-low fat kind. (Apparently chicken soup & saltines are not the cure-all for everything!) At my recheck on Tuesday, the surgeon was hoping I'd had a little better progress.

I am still trying to keep an extremely bland and fat-free diet and supplemented with regular tylenol or ibuprofen doses. This seems to keep the pain mostly under control, and hopefully will give my digestive system the chance to recoup. In the meantime, I am craving cheese & pizza...can't wait until I can have such goodies again! It was so bad that today I looked at the nutrition label of a frozen pizza in the health food section made with tofurkey (tofu & turkey?). That's got to be healthy right? It's fat content was 8 g -- a level which would likely have me calling the emergency room & double dosing on the oxycodone for sure. Don't worry I quickly left that section!

Meanwhile, I am still hoping to get out of Seattle next weekend to begin my cross-country trek to Greenville, NC. Thanks to my friends Fred & Vicki I am staying in their home, most of my worldly possessions are living in their garage and Mia is tied in the back yard. I am sure glad that all 4 of their kids are out of the house so that I could move in! I do have a home that I signed a lease on in Greenville, so I am happy to not have to pay rent on two houses this month. 

My pile of STUFF

Well that's it for tonight. I just wanted to give an update & let you know that I appreciate your prayers!

 

Another Surgery, Another Blog Post

While my back continues to improve and I continue to regain my strength, I figured out last week that my gall bladder has been acting up. After consulting with doctors it seems that it needs to come out. I was going to wait until I got settled in North Carolina for the regional representative role to have a surgery to remove it. Last week after a fairly painful attack a couple nights before I was to leave I realized that I needed to have it taken care of rather than having to deal with the pain over the 3000 mile trek!

I am going in to have laproscopic gall bladder removal tomorrow (Tuesday) at 3 pm. Pray that it goes well!

 

I now hope to leave for North Carolina on November 9. The surgeon told me she recommends waiting at least a week before I move. I told her that I was thinking about waiting 2 weeks, and she said that 2 weeks would be much better and that I would be able to enjoy it more & be able to help drive.

I moved out of my house this weekend, and have most of my things packed up. (Thanks to my neighbors, the Bakers and the VanGorkoms I did not do any heavy lifting!) I am now living at the VanGorkom house. The VanGorkoms & I were together in Ethiopia & here. I am so thrilled to have colleagues at CVM who take care of me so well.  

This seems to be another episode of God's timing and not mine. (This is my second delay in moving!) I prefer my timing, but I know that God's timing is better than mine even if I don't exactly know why. Perhaps someday I'll know why, but I do know that He is good and I can trust Him.  

Feel free to read more about my new role within CVM in my last 2 prayer letters:

• July prayer letter 
 
• September prayer letter

I am excited to have a house ready to move into in Greenville, NC and my friend Roy who will drive across the US with me. I am already praying for good weather on the roads as the first mountain pass just had its first snow this weekend. I am excited to be closer to those whom I'll work with on the east. I am definitely sad to miss the first couple meetings I had scheduled there next week.

 

Two Week Recheck

I had my two week surgery recheck from my surgery on Wednesday. It went well! The doctor said my back is healing okay and that the little pains in my leg are normal and may still continue for the next one or two months. He thinks that I have a very good long term prognosis which was good news. However, there is still a chance for relapse over the next couple weeks even though each day the chance of that happening decreases. Needless to say, I am still trying to be cautious with my activities.

I have started driving a little bit and will start physical therapy on Monday. I will go back to work on Tuesday. My surgeon is limiting my hours to half-time the first week. I am excited to see my colleagues everyday! I visited the office shortly on my way home from my recheck--It had been 7 weeks since I had been able to step foot into the office. I'm still a little nervous about all of this especially with the residual leg pain and the previous relapse.

Tia left on Thursday to go back to her family I sure miss having all of her help and friendship, but her kids and my brother are sure happy to have her back home! Since I'm on my own I am back to making sure I have my phone with me at all times (even when I go into the next room)--I decided to spare you the photos of the phone necklace! I definitely don't want a repeat of being stuck on the floor without a way to call if something goes awry.



Sad that Tia left and that my teddy bear was too small to snuggle with.

Before she left she gave me a little teddy bear to keep me company but it really wasn't quite big enough to snuggle with. She conspired with my friend Roy so that I would find a snugly hidden teddy bear today hidden in my dryer to keep me company! It definitely put a smile on my face today and it was good to have a hug.

My sweet new bear to keep me company.

Thanks again for all your prayers and I would appreciate your continued prayers as I try to adjust back into "normal" living.  

Recovery -- Take 2

Today is Day 5 post-surgery! Recovery has been much slower this time, but each day I have improved with less pain. I am able to walk a little further & stay out of bed a little longer each day. I feel like I am recovering at tortoise-pace, but as long as I keep heading towards the finish line of healing I am ok with that! I've had less pain from the surgery site this time, but more pain have lingered in my right leg. It is the little pains in my leg that make me fearful of another relapse, and keep me more cautious. I've had to remember verses not be afraid & to trust in God such as 

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

It has been absolutely great to have my sister-in-law Tia with me for the past 4 days! We get to go on walks 3-4 times a day and she helps with everything from making sure I get fed and cleaning my house to just being a friend and hanging out together.

The highlight so far during my recovery has been my walk down to the park today. It is a several block walk and I have been slowly working up to it. Today was a beautiful day and I enjoyed getting to see the flowers in the lily pads and the ducks who were finding their lunches.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me by providing meals (& all other odds & ends), sending me encouraging notes, especially praying for me! Keep the prayers (& help) coming!

Surgery again?!?!

Surgery last week went well. My recovery was going GREAT. I was walking, sitting & getting around with pretty much all my leg pain gone...just a little tingling left. THEN Monday I got up and moved wrong to readust how I was sitting. Severe sharp pain shot thru my right leg! I hadn't felt that for over a week. My cooworkers resqued me & got me up after some pain meds kicked in. The pain was manageable over night, but uncontrollable yesterday morning. I ended up going into the ER. they redid an MRI & it looks like another fragment of the disk is present in the site they just cleared out. I see the neurosurgeon this morning still & have been fasting since midnight in preparation of a possible Fourth of July surgery. Please pray for relief from pain, wisdom over a potential second surgery and for healing!

Surgery tomorrow

I am scheduled for a 1:30 back surgery tomorrow. A minimally invasive lumbar microdiscectomy. Whew! I am ready. I have heard from others who have had the surgery that the pain in my leg should be gone shortly after surgery. It sounds as if the recovery should not be too bad. (I expect it to be less pain than what I have been experiencing.) The surgeon told me that he is hoping that I will be so happy to have the pain in my leg is gone, that I will not mind having the pain in my back from the surgery.

The surgery itself is scheduled to be 40 minutes long and will basically be a removal of the disc material that has escaped from the disc and is pressing on my nerve that goes down to my leg. I am planning on spending the night at the hospital, but it is possible to be discharged in the same day. The surgeon also has given me 3 weeks of disability leave from work so that I can focus on recovery.

One thing that God has been showing me is how much He and others love me. My sister-in-laws were quick to volunteer to come and help me through the surgery. (There's nothing better than family!) Mindy volunteered first, so she gets to come and is on her way already! She comes in tonight and will leave on Friday. I'm sure thankful for Bill, Audrey, Ben & Luke for letting me have her for the week! My co-workers have been loving me as well. They have been coming and helping me--making sure that I have food, they've been washing my dishes, doing my laundry, cleaning my bathroom, taking me to appointments, and even rescuing me from my appointments (when I drove to them myself and was in too much pain to drive myself back home). And of course they have been praying for me. Today a friend is even brushing and washing my dog. Mia has been neglected a lot since I stopped being able to go out on walks.   

I've had to focus on some of the promises of God recently. Here's some of them:

God will work things out for good:

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

^{God is with me and won't leave me:}

^{Deut 31:6} Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

^{His grace is sufficient for me:}

^{2 Cor 12:9} But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

^{God can heal me:}

^{James 5:15} And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.

I find that if I focus only on myself then I am fearful, but if I focus on God and serving Him and knowing that He knows what is best for me then I suddenly have the peace that He has promised me! 

Pray that the surgery will go well and bring forth the needed healing & that I would continue to experience His peace. Thanks for all of your prayers & keep praying! 

In His Peace--Denise

Waiting on God

Well, I had my epidural injection on Monday. The injection wasn't too painful. It would have been pretty cool to watch. In fact, since it was done with fluoroscopy so the Dr. could see where the needle placement was, I could have watched it on the screen. However, I hate being at the receiving end of the needle so I just closed my eyes and prayed that it would be over quickly. So if you want to know what it looked like you'll have to ask Dr. Vicki who accompanied me!

It left my legs a little shaky afterwards and I was super happy to have Vicki there to drive me home. The injection left me feeling better that day but also tired. The injection included a couple different drugs. One was a short-acting anesthetic and the other was a long-acting steroid. It was a treat to have very little pain the first day as the anesthetic did its job.

The next morning I could tell that the steroid hadn't started working as the pain was back. It can take 5 or more days until it kicks in and up until now it hasn't.

I did find someone who works with non-surgical treatment of herniated discs using something called decompression therapy. This was something that I had wanted to try and is a similar approach as the inversion table. I had my first session at Parkside Spine Care on Friday. It is a different approach then my previous physical therapy and was warned that this might make me sore at first. Although it was fairly gentle traction, it did make me sorer later last night and today. I figure it is worth the try this week since nothing else has been effective.  I will still meet with Dr. Houston, the neurosurgeon on Thursday to officially re-evaluate my condition. I'm sure that we will be discussing surgery unless there are drastic improvements. My pain level today is such that I generally get up on my feet for about 5 minutes at a time before I lay back down to avoid the pain. I pretty much avoid sitting altogether. My big adventure of the day is getting down to the mailbox.

This week's devotional for CVM was "Waiting on God." I was reminded that I am not the only one who has ever had to wait on God, and that God is still working while I wait. One of the verses that I like to think on is Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" I am challenged to use my time of waiting to seek Him, to stay encouraged and to pray for others. This next week CVM is holding a Training of Trainers (that I was supposed to help teach) so I am praying that it goes well as the participants come into town and for Drs. Karen, Monty & Shelley who will be teaching.

Thanks for your prayers as I wait!

Frustrating days

Once again, it has been a long time since I last updated my blog. I am updating again as I ask you specifically for prayer, and want to catch you up on some of my life.

The last few months have been frustrating for me. Many of you have asked over the last couple years how my back has been doing, as I struggled a lot with it a lot during the last couple years I worked in Ethiopia. It had continued to do well during most of my time in Seattle. It sure has been nice to not have to always deal with packing the truck, hauling water and traveling over the rough Ethiopian roads all which aggravated my back. Until February my back seemed to be doing very well and continuing to get stronger and I didn't have pain as I increased my activity level to get rid of some of the post-Ethiopia pounds that made their way onto my body.

In the middle of February though, my back started hurting a little bit. I went back to the exercises I had been given for lower back pain which had always helped before. Then the back pain got worse and started traveling down my right leg. A visit to the doctor led me to physical therapy. PT helped for a time, but I had 2 major setbacks during the last couple months. The last setback went from bad to worse pain than before with the pain traveling down to my ankle and the start of tingling in my right foot. This led to my getting an MRI showing my back in much worse condition than the one in 2009 during all of my back problems in Ethiopia. (I now have a herniated disk at L5-S1). The last couple weeks have found me working at home for CVM on my living room floor where I can lay on my stomach to work on my laptop as I can no longer sit for more than a few minutes at a time (even with lots of pain killers on board).

It's been frustrating because I had been doing everything I was supposed to be doing that I had been taught--taking care of myself, doing my exercises, using lumbar support, lifting properly, etc. At the risk of being too theological this has reminded me a lot of spiritual life. One can do all the right things, but really without the hope and reliance in Christ one is just spinning their wheels slipping further and further away from God. Helpless as I am feeling now. Even now I am realizing how much I need God to heal me--whether it be through miraculous healing on His part, or through the doctors' hands as they treat with steroid injections & more therapy or through a surgery. Of course, my life is in His hands everyday, but I am much more cognizant of it now.

I wanted to update you all and ask that you pray for me. Tomorrow (Monday) I will get a steroid injection. My response to that will determine whether or not the next steps will lead to surgery. I hope to keep you updated on my progress.

Relying on Him, Dr. Denise