Saturday, October 6, 2007

The Good, the Bad, and the Boring

That's good ...
My recent trip to Springfield confirmed that my father is indeed feeling much better and my parents are doing pretty well all round. What a relief! Much thanks goes to St. Jude and to all of you who held my father in your prayers. Thank you so much!

That's bad ...

I took Rose to the neurosurgeon on Thursday. He took one look at her MRI film and scheduled her for the earliest opening he had for surgery. Which is Monday morning. At 7:15 a.m.

Basically, she has a huge herniation that is pressing on all nerves in her spine and both legs. A very bad thing altogether. The good thing is that some of the more dire consequences that he would normally expect haven't developed in Rose. (Let's all say, thank you, Lord, AMEN, shall we?)

It will be a day surgery sort of thing unless something unexpected pops up. Then she'll be home for two weeks or so.

We're not worried, apart from the natural apprehension that lurks on thinking of what might happen (which is instantly thrust from one's mind with a accompanying prayer), and trust this surgeon because he was the one who did Tom's last back surgery. All along the way through preadmittance and bloodwork precedures at the hospital yesterday, we kept hearing the same thing. "Dr. Weiner? Oh, he's a biggie. He's a really good doctor."

That's boring ... (the details for the few who might care)
She had been experiencing some problems with sciatica for about a year which would come under control with anti-inflammatories under our regular doctor's direction. My own feeling is that with a father who's had three back surgeries, none of which were due to accidents, and my side of the family which tends to have one hip a bit higher than the other ... well, the poor kid had natural genetic weaknesses which were exacerbated by taking yoga and kung fu at the same time. A month or so ago a kung fu kick resulted in much greater pain in one knee, down her leg, and numbness in her foot and calf. None of which was reported instantly to parents ... you know how that goes.

Naturally Rose was quite upset about the idea of surgery and missing school for two weeks, although she is adjusting to the idea. I told her that now is the time to cash in on requests for those CDs and DVDs she's been wanting. This weekend will be devoted to some serious Rose pampering (Do I know how to take care of a sick kid? Of course I do!).

That's Good Too
One of the best things about this is reflecting on our community. We have so many more friends to call on than we did long ago during Tom's surgeries. That's what letting God into your life does.He is overflowing in his generosity and that certainly extends to the circle of people who you know and love. Between our various retreat teams, others we know through St. Thomas, and (certainly not least) this blog, we know that all we have to do is ask and generous, caring friends will cover us with prayer, meals, or anything else we need during this time of crisis. And we are thankful for the visible Body of Christ.

As you can imagine, prayers are much appreciated. I'll update on this again on Tuesday or when the opportunity presents itself.

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