To Work or Not to Work. . .

that is the question. Jason is still trying to make a decision on what to do about his work. Last Thursday (Oct 16th), Jason went back to the hospital for another CT scan. The results indicate another suspected leak. I say suspected because there is a difference of opinion between the doctors as to what the results actually mean. One doctor thinks that it could just be tissue damage from the last leak and abscess. Very helpful, huh?

After getting these results, we headed out of town for a couple of days to camp down in Sulphur (we stayed in a park home in a private RV park--not in a tent for those of you who were wondering). The weather was beautiful and the kids had a great time playing outdoors. There were friends from our church camping down there, so they had plenty of playmates. Unfortunately, Jason fell when he was feeding the bonfire and strained his ribs. We thought they were cracked, but after getting an X-ray, we discovered that they were only strained. With his osteoporosis, he is at high risk for fractures and breaks, so we feel fortunate that things weren't worse. However, we did cut our trip short to head back up to the city for X-rays :-(

This week we were supposed to have some paperwork completed by the doctor for Jason's work. Because there are differing opinions between the doctors treating Jason, we are unable to get the paperwork that his work has requested. During our last conversation with the doctor's office, the doctor indicated that he was skeptical about whether or not Jason is or would be physically able to return to work. Of course, we have suspected this for some time, but this is the first time we have actually heard it from his doctors. This was especially hard for Jason to hear, as he has been very focused on his recovery and returning to work.

Up to this point, the doctors seemed very optimistic and convinced that it would simply be a matter of time before Jason was feeling better. Personally, I have never been this optimistic :-( Between the steroids that Jason takes and the fact that his blood sugars have been so high, I don't think he is a likely candidate for complete healing, aside from miraculous intervention.

So, at this point the doctors are trying to come to a consensus and Jason is trying to decide whether or not he feels like he even *can* return to work. Right now, his pain is still pretty intense if he tries to do much physical activity. He can do a limited number of things on pain medication, but of course he won't be able to go to work as a mechanic on pain meds. So, please pray for both Jason and his doctors to have divine wisdom regarding whether he should consider returning to work.

Jason started a new diabetes medicine this week. We are praying that there will be no negative reaction this time. He got very sick with the last medication he tried and we found out (after the fact) that he was lucky he was not hospitalized because of the reaction. Please join us in praying that his body would respond well to this medication and that God would ease his pain and give him the grace to persevere and the wisdom to make important decisions.