Update on baby

I took baby back for a recheck today. Her thumb is already so much better. I'm so grateful that babies heal quickly and that she doesn't seem traumatized by it. I've done some reading on this "hair-thread tourniquet syndrome", and it could have been so much worse. This can happen with baby boys and their private parts and some babies have even lost fingers, toes or other appendages over this :-(

So on to our next adventure. She is already cutting a molar :-0 I noticed this a few weeks ago, but thought that I must be wrong. However, the doctor confirmed that this is indeed the case. My other children waited until over six months to cut any teeth, and they cut their front teeth first. Well, I'm sure this is going to make breastfeeding a fun new adventure :-p

I just got back from the ER with the baby. . .

and she had hair (thread actually) tourniquet syndrome. She is 7 weeks old. A thread had wrapped around her left thumb and was strangling it and cutting deeply. Because the swelling was so bad, we couldn't even see what was causing it--let alone pull it out. They had to dig around for the thread (which was very bloody and traumatic for both of us). They think they got it all, but the cut is so deep it is hard to tell for sure. We are giving her antibiotics and keeping an eye on it.

We were moments away from having her go into surgery when a nurse finally got the thread broken and was able to pull it out. We are hoping they got it all. They said if I had not seen this or it had gone on much longer, she could have lost her thumb over it. If the swelling doesn't go down and the thumb doesn't go back to normal color, we may end up at the children's hospital over the weekend.

Praising God for his goodness to us during this situation!

Jason's First Week at Work

Jason finished his first week back at work on Friday. The first three days back, he was given some paperwork and lighter duties to handle, and this went fairly well. Thursday and Friday, he was back to doing regular mechanic work. Friday, he stumbled and fell at work, so he was in quite a bit of pain over the weekend. His van has also started having problems, so he is probably going to have to come home and work on his own vehicle after putting in a full day at work :-0 He will also have to work six days this week since next week is a holiday, so he will not have an easy time this week :-( Jason's prayer is that he can continue working and that hopefully his pain will eventually improve. So far, this is not the case and the heavy activity has made his pain worse.

I spoke with the PCP doctor on Friday. The pain management specialist has requested all of Jason's medical records and test results from the PCP's office before they will even give us an appointment time. All of the information has been sent, and no one has heard back from the pain management specialist's office. Please continue praying for Jason to have relief from pain and for his protection from further injury at work. Also pray that we can get into the pain management specialist very soon.

The kids and I are trying to get back to a routine. When Daddy is home, we don't really do a schedule or routine since Daddy is not a schedule person ;-) For my sanity, I am trying to reestablish a daytime routine of chores and schoolwork for the kids. Last week went fairly well and we are slowly gaining ground on getting the house back in order. This week, my goal is to add the schoolwork back in, so please pray for me and we will see how it goes.

My two middle kids are coughing and complaining of sore throats, so I am hoping that this passes quickly. The baby seems to have some nasal congestion and has coughed a bit this morning. I'm hoping this is a coincidence and that she hasn't caught anything that will be terribly bad. We are supposed be having Thanksgiving with my family this weekend, so please pray that we are all better by then.

Jason is Back at Work :-0

I've talked to him for less than a minute so I have no idea how he is *really* doing. He was putting on a brave face during our conversation ;-) We know that if he doesn't last at work after going back this time, that he will probably lose his job immediately. Jason's desire is to continue doing mechanic work for Hobby Lobby. His pain is still fairly intense, and since he works as a mechanic, he cannot take anything stronger than Tylenol to relieve it (which does nothing for his pain). We have still heard nothing definite about an appointment with the pain management specialist. As of last Tuesday, we could not get in until December. . .and of course we still have heard nothing from our incompetent PCP.

Bad News :-(

After submitting an appeal to our PCP this week regarding the problems we are having with him, we learned today that our appeal was rejected. To make a long story short--our PCP is now fired (although he doesn't know it yet). The only positive news this week is that we have found a Pain Management Specialist who is willing to see Jason, although he can't see him until December. We had requested for the PCP to hold off releasing Jason for work until the Pain Management Specialist has a chance to work with him and see if we can get his pain level under control. However, the PCP has stated that there is no reason why Jason cannot go to work full time and perform mechanic duties (we disagree strongly with this decision).

Jason's pain is still so bad that we are skeptical that he will be able to last long doing the type of work that he does. Because the PCP has given his opinion to Jason's employer, they have had no choice but to put him back on the schedule and require him to return. He does not even have the option for light duty, but will have to do everything that he did before. Jason regularly bends over, lifts heavy weights, etc. and these things will be very painful, but unless Jason changes his mind between now and then, he plans to go back to work on Monday. I am praying that, if it is not God's will for Jason to return to work, He will make that abundantly clear.

I am still praying for a miracle. We would love for the PCP to change his mind, but do not hold out much hope of this happening. I would like to think that there is a less strenuous job that he can do until he is feeling better, but for now that is not the case. However, I continue to remind myself that God is in control of this situation. It hurts to feel that the doctors have given up hope on being able to help Jason, and it hurts even more that they have shown such a lack of compassion as to release him to work against our will when he is still in so much pain.

I am trying to get everything lined up that will make next week as easy as it can be. Jason will probably come home at the end of each day in quite a bit of pain. I'm sure he'll want to collapse and rest (if his pain will allow him to do so).

Please continue praying for God to move in Jason's life and that I will be the help and support he needs as he makes these important decisions.

Why are we paying doctors so much money. . .

for such poor quality service? We are hitting some dead ends with our doctors this week. Please pray for God to break down these hurdles for us. For several weeks, we have been having problems getting calls returned in a timely manner from our PCP. Even when Jason had an allergic reaction to his medication a few weeks ago, they called and left a message for us cancelling his doctor's appointment (with no explanation) and would not return our phone calls after that! They have also quit listening when we talk to them about our situation.

Case in point: We needed paperwork completed for Jason's work and it was due back by Oct 25th. It was not completed by the deadline, and when they finally did complete it and return it to Jason's work, they did not complete it correctly. We had discussed Jason's limitations with his doctor and told him that if Jason returned to work at this point, he could not complete two of his "essential job functions" because his pain was still too bad. Today we found out that the doctor sent paperwork to Jason's work saying that he could return *now* with *NO RESTRICTIONS*!! So, based on this information, his work has stated that he has until November 7th to return to work *full duty* or forfeit his job. Of course we had to find out this information on a Friday afternoon when it is difficult to get anything done!!!

Jason's PCP was supposed to send him to a pain management specialist a month ago. They were supposed to call us yesterday with the name of the doctor and an appointment time. Of course they did not call. Today, we call them. . . the person who handles that is not in the office today and they will have to call us back on Monday :-0 I wish I could be paid so much to do so little. . .

Also, we have heard about a wonderful diagnostic center down in Temple, Texas. We are interested in visiting this clinic to see if they can shed any light on Jason's condition. However, in spite of spending hours on the phone, we cannot get a definitive answer regarding whether or not our insurance will cover a visit to this center. We have contacted the center, and they will talk to our insurance company and get an answer to us--BUT, it will take 2 WEEKS :-0 This is very discouraging because we know that we cannot afford to go down there unless our insurance will pay for it.

We are praying that the Lord will move in these situations and make it possible for us to get some clear answers.

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.