Update

I know its been awhile since I've updated. Unfortunately its been because i have felt pretty terrible the last month or so. Had another ER vista (that makes 3 in 4 months) last Thursday because i had been in unbearable pain for almost 2 weeks and just couldn't handle it anymore. At the ER they gave me a 3 shots of dilaudid and a steroid shot which calmed things down for me this past week. Because of this last episode, we decided it was time to go back to Vanderbilt and get reevaluated.

So on Thursday my mom, Harrison, and I went to Nashville to see an nurse practitioner at the Comprehensive Spine Center. She was actually the first person I saw back in 2009 when my pain came back. She is a great nurse practitioner and is really compassionate. We felt like we had a really good appointment and that she got a really good picture of where things stand and how my pain has gotten worse and harder to control the past couple months. She decided i needed to get another test done called a CT myelogram. Its a CT scan but they inject dye into my spine to get a better picture. This will enable the doctor to see my hardware, nerves, spinal column, bone grafts, etc. It will give a really comprehensive look at my neck. Injecting the dye is like getting a spinal tap so i'm not looking forward to that so please pray for that to go well and for the test to show something or give some kind of explanation to why I have so much pain.

I try everyday to remind myself that God will use this experience and that He has this all under control and that His plan is better than mine. Its hard sometimes on days (like yesterday and today) when I am in pain to remember that.

I personally have been praying for encouragement and support and God has really answered my prayers. I have had so many people reach out to me and give me encouragement and tell me that they are praying for me. People mention how strong I am to be able to go thru this but its definitely not my strength getting me thru...its the prayers from everyone and God giving me strength that gets me thru every day.

As always, if you are reading this, you are one of the people that I am so thankful for. You are someone who encourages me and gives me support and for that, I can not thank you enough. Words are insufficient to express my gratitude. I love you all.