A Brief Update

James 1:2-4 says ~ Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (New American Standard Bible)

a brief update since surgery - at present i can only type with one hand so i am not using capital letters so please bear with me. . .

yes, my swallowing is getting better, i am staying on soft foods to be on the safe side. my pills only have to be broken down to 1/4's which is much better than it was, i had to try to crush them. sitting is tolerable with ice packs, laying down is getting better. staying on the pain pills every 4hrs helps.

i have a call into my surgeon about my left arm - besides the 14+ pain i am in (based on their pain scale 1-10), i can't use my left arm at all if it requires bending it.

i know it has to do with the un-pinching of the nerves because my pain meds are not with this. it is not red, there is no warm areas, no lumps, no swelling, so i am thinking it isn't a clot. i have had those in the arm before this doesn't feel like that.

it is like a straight line coming from my arm pit area of my arm all the way down to my palm via the ulnar nerve.

please pray with me that this goes away, it is very hard to do everything one handed and the Grace to get through this. i pray it is temporary and will get better. keeping my left arm hanging down does help. while typing i just lay it on my lap.

i have been reading the blogs as often as i can, i am praying, just not able to comment at this time, please forgive me. thanks for your prayer and support, i will be back when i can.

Surgery update

Surgery was 2 hrs. They removed 7 bone spurs, freed up my spinal canal (spinal stenosis), removed 2 ruptured discs, put bone in the 2 areas and put me back together with a metal plate and 4 screws. I know people were praying because the surgery went so smoothly. Thank you for your prayers.

I came home the next day and am trying to sleep - I am in a lot of pain - head/neck/arms/hands/ and spinal cord area. Talking is difficult. I do not have a neck brace he said it would cause more problems with constriction on the nerves and muscles. I have minimal movement up and down and nothing side to side. I go back on the 24th for a follow-up.

Healing can take up to 2 months, the Dr said I could be in pain that long as well. My biggest struggle is swallowing - I am on a liquid plan for now, my medications that are a huge problem I can't crush them, I even tried to put them in hot water to dissolve them no luck. I have a pill splitter so I cut them up as small as I can, sometimes they still get stuck.

I will post when I can.

Standing Firm

Psalm 18:1-2 “I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

Matthew 28:20 "Surely I am with you always."

We are never to look ahead to changes and challenges in our lives with fear. We should like look at them with the full assurance that God will deliver us out of them. Hold on to His hand tightly so He can lead us through all things. And when we can not stand, He will carry us.

He will either shield us from suffering or give us the grace and strength to get through it. We are to be at peace and not have anxious thoughts or worries. What can worry add to our lives? Nothing, so why worry just leave it in His hands.

That is how I feel entering into my neck surgery 2/11/09 with total assurance that God will take me through it without harm. I am at peace knowing He will protect me and will guide the surgeons hands. He will help with my healing whether it is with medications or just a simple touch from the Masters' hand.

I will be off my computer for probably one week. Thanks in advance for your prayers. Talk to you soon. May all who read be blessed as well as their families. Love Deb.

Possible Answers

I wasn't sure how to title this blog. I have been going through many tests to get an answer to why I am having so much problems functioning and breathing, well we think we now know the reason behind it - my thoracic diaphragm.

Let me try to explain - a test they did a week ago called a fluoroscopy - tests how the thoracic diaphragm moves up and down when one breathes, they also did the pulmonary function test (PFT) to see how I breath in and out. The PFT showed mild airway problems in the lungs.

The Phrenic Nerve arises from the 3rd, 4th and the 5th cervical spinal nerves - which works the diaphragm. Following so far? The test showed my diaphragm is not working properly. It could be a direct link to the pinched nerves in my neck. Lord we are praying it is the answer we have been looking for. It has been a long 16 months.

My neck surgery might be a blessing in disguise because I have many pinched nerves in my cervical starting at the 4th level down. The thought is - if they free up the nerves in my neck my diaphragm might work better, then my breathing will get better, as well as my arms and hands.

My PH Dr wants to have an EMG done of the chest and diaphragm to see why it is not moving up and down. Hopefully this test can be done while I am in the hospital. If not I'll have to go back to the PH dr to have it done. They will call me on Monday to let me know what's next.

Thanks for being patient with me in my postings, I am told that my hands will get better with time after the surgery. Only a few days left. Thanks for reading. Love Deb