NO BACK PAIN

I got the most wonderful piece of information from Mom yesterday when I asked her how her back was feeling. Her answer? "It doesn't hurt anymore. There's no pain AT ALL." I can't tell you how happy I was to hear her say that. When Lyla and I visited last month, her pain was obvious and it hurt me to watch her struggle to move, etc. I am looking forward to our next visit later this month because I just know she will be able to enjoy our company so much more. 

We thank the Lord for continuing to work in Mom and Dad's life and for the healing we have already seen. With HIS help, we know Mom is going to get stronger and stronger and her quality of life will improve.

Mom is out of Surgery

I just talked to Dad--Mom is out of surgery (they were late in starting) but it will take an hour for the cement to set up and before he can go back with her.  They were able to repair all four fractures. The doctor warned Dad that because of the brittle condition of her bones, these probably won't be her last fractures like this. The dr said Mom should be able to do more in a couple of days but will be sore and have low energy at first. 

Thanks so much, as always, for your prayers.

Surgery Today

Mom checks in to the hospital at 10am Friday. Please remember her in prayer this morning. Lift up Daddy, too, as he will be sitting alone in the waiting room. They both find their strength in the Lord and continue to feel the prayers you are sending on their behalf.

Thank you.

Pray for Mom's Anxiety

Mom is very nervous and anxious today as she anticipates her surgery tomorrow. Please lift her up in prayer today. Pray that God will give her peace and calm her nerves.

Thank you so much.

Kyphoplasty this Friday

This is an email from my dad:

Saw Dr. Michael Schaufele of Emory University this morning.  The MRI showed two compression fractures (L1 and  L4) and two beginning compression fractures (T12 and L2).  The procedure called Kyphoplasty will be performed at 9:30 this Friday for the L1 and L4.  If she is doing OK then they will perform procedure Vertebroplasty on the other two.  If she is not doing well enough then at a later date she will have to go back for the other two.  I hope all can be done at the same time.  She will be able to come home Friday afternoon.  The Kyphoplasty uses baloons to put in the cement.  That expands the vertebrae more.  The Vertebroplasty does not use balloons.

Kyphoplasty is what was done while she was in Kentucky last November. You can read more about both procedures here.

Another Compression Fracture

Mom's MRI last Thursday showed another compression fracture...this time it is the 4th lumbar vertebrae. She also has some swelling. She is meeting with an orthopedic surgeon this morning to discuss what the next step will be.

MRI and FORTEO

Mom has continued to be in pain...both in her back and on her left side. We wondered if the pain in her left side might be due to over-compensating but there might be another problem. My brother's father-in-law (an orthopedist in Florida) asked to take a look at Mom's most recent cat scan and his opinion (in my dad's words) was as follows: He thinks Mom may have a herniated disk.  He also suggested she have an MRI of the lumbar and pelvic. Also, he said that she has a cyst on her left side.

So, Dad called about getting the MRI and it has been scheduled for April 29 at 10:45(Lumbar) and 11:30(Pelvic). Please pray that they are able to identify exactly what is causing Mom so much pain.

Also, you may remember that I told you about a drug called Forteo that Mom's orthopedist wanted her on.  The insurance company denied it because her bone density was 0.5 better than it needs to be to qualify for that type of drug.  Dad sent this email today: I faxed the rejection letter from the insurance company to Dr. Bowen, the endocrinologist and he appealed the rejection.  He probably used the latest problem that Mom has for the appeal.  Got a letter today from the insurance company stating that they had reversed the rejection and now approved the new medicine. Dad has already picked up the medicine and will begin giving her the injections tomorrow.

I will post again when I know the results of next week's MRI.

Another Possible Fracture

In Dad's words:

The rheumatologist, who has been trying to get an answer about Joyce's pain, called last night.  He said that the CT scan showed a possible fracture of the sacrum, which is a bone next to the pelvis. This is not definitive, but the scan showed a place on the right side, which is the side about which Joyce has complained.  Unfortunately, there is no surgery that can be done for this type of fracture.  It will get better but will take a while.  Just have to treat with pain medicine.  This is good and bad news.  We now know that it was not just muscle spasms but also that there is not anything medically that can be done at this time.  Hopefully, it will begin to heal quickly.

From Ashley: Lyla and I drove down yesterday in time to celebrate Dad's birthday. We are enjoying our visit. Lyla (who gets just about anything she asks for) is especially enjoying herself.

Cat Scan Today

It's been a rough couple of weeks for Mom and Dad. After being sent home from the ER (re: the last post), the pain killers and muscle relaxers didn't seem to do the trick. In fact, they just seemed to knock Mom out. Dad was unable to get her in to see her orthopedic doctor so she went back to the ER last Saturday, March 27th. Once again, they sent her home with more pain meds saying it must be muscular. Thankfully, Daddy didn't accept this and kept pushing her doctors to see her or at least truly find the root of her pain. Her vasculitis doctor spoke with her orthopedic doctor and they agreed that Mom most likely has a fracture that just wasn't detected by the x-ray. Her bone density problems make it difficult for x-rays to pick up fractures.

Mom is having a catscan today at 11am. Please pray that they find what is causing her so much pain.

Muscle Pain

Mom's hip began to hurt toward the end of last week. She was trying to treat it with pain medication but that wasn't cutting it. By the weekend, she was having trouble getting up and down. The home health nurse came over the weekend and noticed some knots in the area. She massaged the knots which seemed to relieve the pain, but only temporarily.
Monday, the pain wasn't only in her hip but also in her back and it got so bad that Dad took Mom to the ER yesterday. After a long wait to see a doctor, they did x-rays of her lower back and hip. The x-rays didn't show anything and they think it's just muscle spasms. Dad will get percocet and a muscle relaxer for her today.

Doing well

Mom is doing really well. She has an oxygen machine at home that she is only supposed to use at night. Also, she has an appointment with a pulmonary specialist that can hopefully get to the bottom of all this--they still don't know what last week's "episode" was or what caused it. Dad says Mom is a little slow-moving (compared to before last Wednesday) but we are very thankful that this does not appear to have set Mom back mentally.

Will post later in the week about Thursday's appointment.

Mom is going home today

Mom is being released today. They couldn't find anything wrong with her and are puzzled over what happened the the dr's waiting room. She sounds great, like nothing happened and was walking around fine yesterday. The doctor did increase her steroids back up to 15 mg just as a precaution. He still doesn't think last week's decrease to 10 mg is to blame but thought it was wise not to take any chances.

Thanks so much for your prayers. Dad said yesterday that he knows the prayers are working. He couldn't get over the drastic difference in Mom.

Low Oxygen Levels

Mom is back in the hospital today, she checked in yesterday evening. When she woke up yesterday, Dad said her legs just weren't strong and weren't working right. She was very shaky and weak. He called her dr but he wasn't available. The nurse told Dad to bring Mom on in. While she was in the waiting room she had a seizure-like episode but they don't think it was a seizure. They think it was due to low levels of oxygen--the doctor does not think it has anything to do with her recent reduction in steroid dosage. In fact, the hospital neurologist doesn't think it has to do with her brain at all. They ran several tests yesterday and did a ct scan last night but we haven't gotten the results yet. Mentally, Mom is doing well. I spoke to her this morning and she was in good spirits and said all the nurses were very nice and taking good care of her. I don't know when we can expect to hear from the doctor or anything. I would just appreciate your prayers.

An Update

Mom has been doing so well. Her physical therapy is going so well...she is even able to outside, down their steep driveway and walk up and down their street (with the therapist, of course). She has been doing her pt exercises on the days the therapist doesn't come which is great, too.
Dad is substitute teaching again and Mom is doing great on her own. For her own safety, she doesn't not shower if she is home alone but last week she was telling me that she really wanted to wash her hair in the kitchen sink. She was concerned that she wouldn't have time after Dad got home and before my nephew's orchestra concert. I suggested she place a kitchen chair in front of the sink so she could sit down immediately after and she did. It was very freeing for her to be able to do that for herself without help. Dad said her hair looked great, too. :)
She saw an orthopedic surgeon recently who did a bone scan, checking her bone density. He was pleasantly surprised that her bones were in better shape than he expected--considering how long she has been on steroids. He has suggested that she go on a drug called Forteo. She will give herself injections every day for the next year. It has been shown to be the only drug that can repair bone loss. Since Mom is still on steroids and will be for a while longer, he feels this is her best defense against future fractures.
Mom will see her neurologist and vasculitis specialist today. We are hoping they will decide to reduce her steroid dose even more. She has done so well with the dosage decreases lately. She will also learn how to give herself the Forteo injections. I will post again tomorrow with details of today's appointments.

Physical Therapy

Mom has had a great week this week. She was able to walk (with her cane and physical therapist) down their steep driveway, walk down their street & back and back up the driveway. This is HUGE! You should hear her tell it really...she was so excited about it. She kept saying, "I didn't even get winded."

The fall last November was quite a setback for her but she seems to be doing better now than even before that fall. God is so good. We are just so happy to see Mom's improvement.

Just thought you would want to hear this good news. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement.

Happy New Year!

Sorry for the delay in posts...my hard drive crashed January 1st which has delayed a lot of things. Also, there wasn't much to really post about before today. Mom saw Dr. Waltuck today (her vasculitis specialist) and he, like the rest of us, was very impressed with Mom's progress. As of tomorrow, she will be on 15 mg of prednisone a day. He will see her again in a month to discuss reducing her dosage even further. We are very encouraged by how well Mom is handling the lower doses of steroids and have hope that one day she may even be off of them completely.

Details about Mom's progress: She no longer needs her walker, is getting up and down out of bed and out of chairs much more easily AND on her own. She has in-home therapy that comes several times a week and she is enjoying the exercises her physical therapist is teaching her. She is even doing them on her own like she is supposed to.

Dad said today that he feels like Mom really does want to get well. I agree. There is something that has changed in her that seems to be causing her to push herself. We are all so thankful for that.

We are also very thankful for all of you. You have been so faithful in your prayers for Mom and for our family and it is evident in how well things are going. We are hopeful that 2010 will be an incredible year!