Flying Bologna

Pops has been pretty tired lately. His days continue to be busy with rehab, dialysis, and all his therapies. His left arm has been causing him a lot of pain lately, and though they can't say for sure that his nerves are growing back, we of course hope they are. The pain comes on quickly and is sharp and intense, which according to his therapist is a good sign. He is on meds for the nerve pain, but it's hard not to get a little excited when I see him wince. It seems sorta backwards to be happy that he's in pain, but it's exciting to think he may be gaining movement in that arm.

Because of the pain, the doctors wanted to explore the arm further so he had an MRI and also a nerve test done. Even after the tests they can't tell us that for sure that his arm will gain movement, but they also can't say that it won't. The nerves in his shoulder are definitely damaged due to the nature of the accident and not due to the spinal cord injury. So it's questionable if he will ever get shoulder movement in the left side. But the arm is a little more hopeful...there's more potential for nerve regeneration there. There may be a possibility in the future for surgery to try and repair the shoulder, but at this time all we can do is wait and see. The doctor that performed the nerve test (an acupuncture-like thing involving lots of needles) was surprised at what he saw. After looking at the x-rays and studying the damage done to his neck and shoulder he looked at dad and said, "Based on what I see, there's no reason you should be alive right now."

Funny how one little sentence can knock you into reality. He's alive. He shouldn't be. But he's alive. Not only alive, but alert, competent, and dare I say healthy? How blessed are we? Once in awhile, it's good to take the focus off the paralysis, dialysis, and nerve damage and realize that, for cryin' out loud, we've still got our dad. There may be no medical reason that he's still with us, but obviously God has a reason for him to be here. And, thankfully, God trumps medicine.

Mom continues to get ready for his arrival home in a few weeks. A hospital bed was delivered to the house and she ordered a special lift to assist with transfers. When I asked dad how he felt about coming home, he said he was 'neutral'. He's very used to the hospital routine, he knows what to expect, and he said he's quite comfortable there. If something goes wrong, you just push a button and a nurse appears in the door. If he needs anything at all...boom, there it is. Push a button at home and he'll be lucky if he gets a piece of bologna thrown at him. Relax...I'm kidding. Mom won't throw any food at him. She can't cook, silly.

We pray that the next few weeks are smooth for dad and that he has peace about the big move home. We thank God for bringing him this far; for giving him, and each of us, a reason to be alive.