Open Doors!

From the beginning Mike and I have always prayed that God would make it obvious to us, as to what we need to do regarding my situation. When we were looking at having physiotherapy in the United States we asked God to open and or close doors to what we needed to do. If you remember He did just that He closed the doors to 2 possibilities leaving us with Detroit being the obvious option.

Well we have been praying concerning my back as my pain since Christmas has been progressively getting worse. I thought maybe this is something I would just have to learn to live with but as I talked about it to my physiotherapist here in Ottawa and others I started to investigate as to what I should do. I heard of an orthopedic surgery, Dr. Don Chow and thought it would be great if I could get into see him. I found out that it is a long wait to see him just for a consult. This past Wednesday Mike was speaking with our dear friend Carol, who has worked at the Civic Hospital for years and knows Dr. Chow personally was able to speak with him and through there special relationship, Dr. Chow agreed to see me Friday morning.

After reviewing my original X-rays Dr. Chow feels that the rods that were placed in my back are causing the pain and is recommending that I have them removed. He also wants to have a neurological exam done and current x-rays to see if there are any cracks or breaks in the rods. As we left the examining room everyone that we needed to see and book these appointments with were standing just outside the door.

My exam was booked for Tuesday at 7:30am, x-rays just after and my post op paper work was completed just after that. Dr. Chow met with us again on Tuesday morning to review the surgery and any all questions that Mike and I had.

We prayed for OPEN DOORS…. Once again God just didn't open the door He blew the hinges off.
In less than a week I met with the surgeon had all the test that I need to have done, done and I am now booked for my surgery on May 22nd.

Depending on what Dr. Chow sees when he gets in there will depend on the extent of the surgery. He is hoping to remove all the rods and screws and a piece of the T5-disc that is sticking out. It should last anywhere from 1–4 hours. We are hoping that I won’t be in hospital longer than 1 week with a 6 week recovery. 

 
Although I am excited to reduce my pain I do have some fear about undergoing surgery. There can always be complications and risks involved. The normal risks of undergoing surgery but the biggest is more loss of function. This is very low risk but yet still a risk. It’s scary to have to undergo the recovery again. The fear of the unknown but now also the known. God gives us so many promises to cling to.

Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength. Always ready to help in times of trouble” This journey has not been easy but daily I try to give the day over to God and rest in Him for what I need for the day. I continue to pray daily that God would reveal His glory and power through healing me completely.

Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, what ever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” I believe it! Please continue to pray with me for my complete healing, for the coming weeks as we prepare and get ready for the surgery and for the recovery. Pray for the girls and for Mike as well as life is about to change again for them. Praise, that God is a God of power that can open doors!

Hugs Sandra

Day by Day

Yes...we are still here! Sorry it's been awhile. Thank you for always checking in and for your continued prayer...lots to keep praying over.

 After our trip to Mexico and getting back to our routine, we have made some decisions on the near future. We have decided it would benefit our family for us to stick closer to home for a while. To that end I now have my FES Bike and Standing Frame at home and have established a full routine both on my own and with my Physio Therapists twice weekly. I am making great progress on my FES Bike. Just after 2 weeks I find that my muscles are strengthening and it's helping to reduce swelling and my toning. I am "riding" up to 16 KM - 4-5 times a week!

I am continuing with acupuncture once a week. I am not sure what it's doing for me, but even though I dread it...its very uncomfortable...we feel I need to continue it for now. Things are happening and although we aren't sure we can attribute it the acupuncture we aren't sure it's not.

One of my biggest struggles is the "sitting and watching" that I am forced to do. I find it very difficult to sit and watch people do things for me. I am so grateful for all the giving, loving people in my life but really miss being able to do for others and even for myself. It goes completely against my nature and I am waiting for God to show me how to do this well.

People ask me and my family members constantly if there has been "any change". I am noticing that my sense of feeling seems to have reached further below my level of injury. It's faint but I am definitely aware of it when concentrating.
Something I have been needing and asking God for was something to show me progress and re-fuel my hope. During my physio sessions my therapist lift me to a standing position at my kitchen counter. The biggest challenge so far has been being able to hold my knees in a locked position. Once this was achieved we moved onto developing weight transfer and then using my hip flex-ors and gluts’ to activate movement.

This past Tuesday I was able to translate all that into actual "voluntary movement".

We have attached a video for you to see, but want to make it clear that although this is definitely progress, I am not feeling what is happening here. I am activating this muscle movement through a great deal of concentration & effort and as you can see it still lacks control. I am taking this as a positive sign and gift from God. This is movement below my injury level and that is amazing!

 Please continue to pray for complete healing and that my muscles will continue to react favourably. Also, for our day-to-day decision making. Hugs Sandra