Is it working?

Today I have a lot of time to write since I'm in clinic w/ Ethan. So I'll give an update on my chiropractic appointments.

I've been seeing the chiropractor for three weeks. The first week I went every day. The second and third weeks I've gone 3x a week.

The very first adjustment I had, I felt sure it was going to help my leg. Sort of hard to describe, but when I was doing physical therapy, I was told that my groin would start popping when things started repositioning. That happened to my right leg, but not my left, the one that hurts. The morning after my first adjustment, I got out of bed and POP went my left leg. Also, that first week, a couple times when I got adjusted in my back, I could feel sensations going right down into my leg where it hurts. These two things made me think that the adjustments were indeed hitting the affected area.

Since then, I haven't had total improvement, but I'm not getting any worse and some things are definitely getting better (my neck and lower back). My leg still feels off, and the chiropractor said that would be the last thing to get relief. I don't know if he just said that b/c he wanted to reassure me, or if it's really based on evidence. Anyway, it seems to make sense, but at the same time, it's discouraging to me to hear all the stories of people who've tried chiro care and haven't gotten help. So I'll just keep plugging away, hoping insurance kicks in at some point so I don't have to pay all out of pocket, and go the full course - 4 more wks of 3x a wk, then 6 wks of 2x a week. The doctor said we're fixing a leaky roof rather than just patching it, which would have been my other alternative w/ less adjustments.

My adjustments feel good. They use a machine called the pro-adjuster. If you want to see it, just look it up on WebMd, there's a video. The thing I like about it is that it measures how much adjustment my body needs, signals when I've had as much as I can handle for the day, and graphs my progress overall. I get a sort of pressure/vibration applied to my spine at my neck, my middle back, my lower back, both sides of my sacrum, my outer hip, and then down my bad leg. It takes about 3-5 minutes.

Fallenness vs. Health

Knowing that our bodies are aging, and that this is God's signal to us that something isn't right with the world and that we are ultimately to hope for heaven, how much time, energy, and money should we put into our health? Should I be paying out of pocket to get my body healthy when insurance isn't covering the cost, should I be spending my time in doctor's offices, etc.? Should my ultimate goal be to get healthy?

Well, yes and no. I think you probably see where this is leading. There are extremes to everything. My worldview tells me that right now I should be more concerned about the suffering and dying in Haiti than my leg pain. I should be praying for others' salvation and for revival rather than reading through pages and pages of WebMD. You get my point. At least if you're a Bible believer, you do. If you are of another persuasion, you may be clueless or reject what I'm saying. Let me speak to you for a minute - fallenness simply means that man and the world is in a state of suffering due to Adam and Eve's original sin. Yes, I actually believe that.

Our society puts a huge priority on personal health. This may shock you, but I've even wondered if Danny Thomas's philosophy was right, that no child should have to die in the prime of life. Millions and millions of dollars go to St. Jude. You know how thankful I am for that. But in the big scheme of things, even though I'm thankful that God has saved Ethan through this means, what are the implications? All the charitable giving that goes to St. Jude COULD potentially go to save other dying children across the world. What do we do about that? It could go to support people who are giving their resources to reach out to the lost, in the 1040 window or wherever. Then again, maybe God has a plan for at least some of those St. Jude kids and they're going to be the ones He'll use to give of their resources to advance His kingdom in the future. Wouldn't that be awesome?

Well, I need to run (to a chiropractic appointment, haha). So far, that's going fine but it's still too early to tell if it's really going to fix my leg, which is my goal. And so far I haven't gotten approval from my insurance but I'm forging ahead.

Chiropracter visits

Hi, as you may recall I had a neck MRI to see if there was some reason my arm/hand EMG was indicating a pinched nerve higher up. That came back normal. I concluded from that that the next best step would be pursuing chiropractic help, since I don't want to settle for medications to manage my pain rather than fixing whatever's wrong if possible. Since months of PT haven't resolved things, I've felt I need to take this step, being pretty sure my spine is somehow creating at least some of my symptoms, if not all. Interestingly enough, the last week or so I've started experiencing neck pain along w/ the thumb pain and aching in my arm I started having a couple months ago. The symptoms just seem to be moving up higher and higher.

One of the things that has held me back from seeing a chiropracter is not knowing if insurance would cover it. I found out that my company will cover certain parts of it, but I still need to get my primary physician to send a referral. I couldn't get in to see her till next week, but since the initial consultation w/ the chiropracter is free and ex-rays aren't covered by my insurance, I went ahead and got the ball rolling this week.

My consultation and exam were on Wed., and I went back today to go over the ex-rays. At my first exam, I watched a video, then they sent home another video, then showed me a third one today. So I'm now educated in the basic approach, which views your nervous system as the basic key to good health. Since I've known from the beginning that something was askew with my nervous system, it seems to fit w/ my needs.

Seeing my ex-rays gave me a clearer picture of what's wrong. The lower third of my spine curves to the side. My neck has a couple problem areas as well. My spine is in Phase II of degeneration (out of IV). The doctor estimates this started 3-5 years ago. I told Ethan it's not Memphis that did it to me after all - of course it didn't help and may have brought it on quicker than it would have otherwise.

The chiropracter gave me a couple options - getting enough treatment to relieve symptoms but not really fix the problem, or more frequent and focused care in hopes of restoring long term spinal health. He compared it to patching a leaky roof or getting a new one. Obviously the sensible thing is to get a new one, so I'm going to go that route even if it costs me more. My body will tell me if it's doing the job after I get into it. I've gotten to know my body so well and am always aware of my level of pain, twitching etc. If I find it's not doing anything or making me worse, I'll have to figure out what the next step is.

The adjustments will be done by a pro-adjuster machine vs. manual manipulation. This seems very safe and intriguing since it was originally used by NASA, at least that's what the informercial style / propoganda video claims. Yes, I'm joking but there's always that element to everything, isn't there? No one thing can fix everything. But skepticism aside, I feel positive about my options right now.

health update

So far I haven't heard anything about my MRI. I don't know for sure because of the holidays, but I think my neurologist would have called by now if something was up. Anyway, I have a consult and possible ex-rays w/ a chiropractor next week.

As far as I'm feeling, I'm still doing fairly well but experiencing ongoing symptoms that prevent me from fully engaging in life the way I would like. I'll check in again next week after I know more.

EMG says I need an MRI

Ohhhh yes, that's what's on my plate right now. As of yesterday, an EMG on my ARM showed a possible pinched nerve in my NECK which could be from a problem in my cervical spine. I had a cervical spine MRI a year ago and everything was fine. But now the test indicates otherwise so here in the midst of enjoying the holidays I'll be dealing w/ more health issues, along w/ anxiety about surgery which was mentioned as a possibility after my test. Spinal surgery???? Well, if it goes well and fixes everything, great. But along w/ the risks in general of surgery itself, I don't have a lot of confidence that it will do the job and not create further problems. Okay I've gone down this path far enough.

Yes, I do have a chiropracter visit scheduled for the 1st wk of January and I will definitely go thru w/ that if the MRI comes out clear. If the MRI does not then....we will see.

The time has come

Today I took Ethan to an eye appointment. Right next door, a chiropracter that's been recommended to me has his office. I went in to see about insurance etc. and didn't get much of an idea about what would happen w/ that, but went ahead and made an appointment for a consult and possible x-rays etc.

Why now? Why not now? It's been over a year and my physical therapy, meds etc. aren't getting me where I want to be. They're helping, but I'm still dissatisfied w/ living w/ pain esp. when I drive. Right now I'm okay but it still varies so much throughout my day.

Big picture, the extreme leg symptoms I had at the beginning are gone. I'm not limping or even noticing much w/ my leg anymore. But even so, I'm achy in my pelvis and back and it's wearing me down.

So, I figured this day would eventually come. The main thing that's been holding me back is finances. I still don't know what's going to happen w/ that so I'll figure it out as I go.

so what about Christmas?

There's a lot of cultural stuff surrounding this time of year, and most of it gets a bad rap, being labeled commercialism or what have you. But I must confess, when the lights go up on the houses, the music starts playing, and the hubbub to and fro gets going, I feel a sense of wonder that nothing else can create through the year. Call it Christmas spirit or whatever, it grabs me and carries me along, not quite the same way as in childhood, but having a magical quality nonetheless.

And so, am I allowing myself to be swept up in a false mystical experience and not really focusing on the true meaning of Christmas? Maybe so, but why does it have to be one or the other? Why do we have to make such a big deal about what's acceptable and what's not?

I still prefer to downplay Santa as much as possible and watch my spending, but the more I see how life can change dramatically, how people can undergo such terrible suffering, how the economy is hurting so many, the less I want to sweat the small stuff and the more I want to embrace life and marvel in what all those things represent. As they say, everything has a good and bad side to it, so let me bring out some of the good that can go along w/ the bad.

Spending money on presents: We can definitely go overboard w/ this, but the good part of it is when we take the time to think about who we're buying for and make an attempt to touch them in a personal way. We don't always succeed in finding the perfect gift, but sometimes it just makes more sense to spend a little extra to get something the person will really appreciate than less because we're trying to stick w/in a budget. Or vise versa - we may have in mind to spend a certain amount on someone but find something for much less that fits them better. The point is, when we shop, the part that's important is thinking about how to give a meaningful gift. Sometimes this requires deciding against something they'd really like but has no real value, only tickles their fancy for a few fleeting moments. This is particularly the case w/ children!

Decorations: The bad side of this trying to show off and competing w/ others around you (National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation). The good part however is making your home look special, creating an atmosphere that welcomes anyone who visits and gives your own family a sense of joy as they savor their hot chocolate and simply appreciate being together. Also, taking time to think about the decorations and what they mean is always significant. I especially enjoy putting up ornaments I bought from a place where my dad works called Ten Thousand Villages. They collect handmade items from third world countries and sell them in the states to help support those countries.

Food: Okay, it's so obvious what the bad side of this is: GLUTTONY! But the good side is partly in the process, enjoying baking and preparing dishes w/ others, sharing fellowship, etc. along w/ consuming those items. We can limit how much we eat, it just requires having a proper perspective. Knowing those things were made w/ special attention, either by ourselves or others, we can respect the work that went into them and sample rather than gorge.

Music: The bad side of this is getting hung up on lyrics or styles that don't appeal to us and making fun, or thinking we can only listen to hymns because nothing else edifies. Pu-shaw as our forefathers used to say. Our kids always makes fun of us playing the original Messiah during our tree mounting/decorating time together. But as they get older, they're understanding that traditions are important, and different styles of music can be appreciated. We have fun laughing together as a family while at the same time letting the music pervade our souls despite ourselves.

Charities: Yes, this can have a bad side. When we give out of pity or obligation, that's bad. But when we truly want to show Christ's love to the less fortunate and give out of humble compassion, that's good. Along w/ our giving, we need to remember to thank God for giving us the means to help, and ask Him to show us how we can give sacrificially beyond what we can afford. That means saying no to one thing so we can say yes to another. This might mean more than denying yourself a cup or two of Starbuck's coffee. It may mean something like not attending that holiday movie in the theater, spending less on your own food bill, not taking a trip or whatever.

What about Santa, reindeer, and other "secular" things surrounding the holidays? I think this is a very personal decision, just make sure you're in tune w/ God as you make it. The elephant in the room here is that CHRIST needs to get the main focus. If that's not happening, something is wrong. Our family practices the advent wreath and candles, reading Scripture together and singing carols. There are many other activities we participate in as well, but this is central. We also take our nativity scenes seriously and display them in the most prominent places in the house. I try to read the Christmas story on my own every year, even though it's so familiar.

Let's celebrate our culture and what we have. Many countries don't have any way of legally celebrating. Even if we do go a bit overboard, we have the privilege of doing it, and those of us who are truly worshiping Christ in our hearts can do it in a way that shows others there really is a reason to celebrate.