Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Surgery #2

It has been one long month since my neck surgery and cervical spine fusion on March 25. I woke up the day after surgery with extreme pain in my shoulder, neck, and all the way down my right arm. After weeks of taking high doses of pain killers (Oxycontin and Oxycodone). it was determined that my body had built up an immunity to the drugs. I have now weaned myself down to where I will be completely off in a few days. Some long days and even longer nights with lots of ice and a whole lot of prayer as I wait for surgery #2. It has been determined that my nerves are pinched so badly, that I must have the surgery redone (steel plate and bone graft removed) and start over again. Surgery is scheduled for May 3rd, and I can hardly wait!!
Fortunately, my portion of the ride begins in Grand Rapids, so, I do have a little extra time to get some compressed training time in. I was originally planning to be back on my bike by May 1, but now it looks like early June:( Praying for a quick recovery!  <kp> 4/24/13

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Set-back_Surgery

Everything was going along fine. I made plans to take part in a segment of the "Sea to Sea Bike Ride" for Poverty. Somewhere along the way I inherited a "pain in the neck"... literally! That pain turned out to be a ruptured disc (C6-C7) that left the bones rubbing together and causing my neck to lock in place at times. I began with an epidural injection on February 25. The shot gave no relief and so, on March 25th I had surgery at UW Hospital in Madison, WI to fuse the bones. With some donated bone and a titanium plate, I was put back together in hopes of going home the next day. Well, it was 4 days before I went home, due to nerve pain. I was back in the ER on Saturday March 30 for almost 5 hours. Today is April 6 and I am still on high doses of pain medication and still have no relief. In had another epidural nerve block injection on Wednesday, but that shot takes 3-5 days to kick in. Today is day 3 and I am still waiting...

On Thursday May 4, we had a Soup and Chili Supper to raise money for my ride. The attendance was fantastic and the profit was $ 1,255.00!! I am humbled by the outpouring of support. My church (1st CRC) also took an offering which amounted to $ 419.00. 2nd CRC also took an offering, but I haven't heard how much was received yet. I was also informed that the Reformed Church of Friesland will be taking an offering for my ride in May. I have reset my fundraising goal to $ 10,000.00,a figure that I never thought possible, but now am confident that I will attain (by God's grace).

I hope to be back on the road to resume training on May 1 (D.V.). Fundraising will continue till August 1. You can still make a donation to help end poverty.   http://tinyurl.com/revken-c2c