Bone Cells Are GROWING!!!

Hard to believe that Monday was another check up day for the neck; a day, I have to admit I was nervous about.

In my last message, April 5th, I mentioned the realization of the lack of neck pain; well it didn't last long.
On April 9th I awoke from a wonderful sleep, got up and stretched my arms up for a morning wake up stretch and something popped in my neck and oh did it sting. A huge rush of fear swept over me; fear that I had done something to re-injure the surgical site; a fear that was almost overwhelming. I actually yelled at God saying "NO, NO, this can't be happening again!" Yep, I was truly upset, angry, scared, and in pain yet again. The pain and weakness that I had just been released from was back and my mood really took a nose dive. I was at the point where all I could do was cry and ask the Lord why; for the first time in the two years since the accident, I was really scared.
While praying, a few days later, the Lord impressed on me to pray for a miracle; so I asked my Bible study friends to please pray for a miracle; that was on a Wednesday and by Thursday the pain in my neck had subsided---miracle??? I can't say for sure, but I can say that the searing hot pain stopped again AND the following Monday my ex-rays showed over half of the transplanted bone cell area had new, dense growth and the other half new signs of growth. That to me was/is miraculous; considering it's the first sign of growth since July of 2008.
Yep, you guessed it, I've been praising and thanking the Lord every since I saw the ex-ray! What a reminder for me to pray specifically!! I'm here Lord with a more attentive ear to hear!

I'm now asking for specific prayer for my right shoulder; it's still frozen even though I've had two full months of physical therapy. I have had some form of therapy at least three times a week plus the work I do on my own at home with some resulting loosening of scar tissue, but still not enough to bring my arm behind my back---I have little if any medial rotation----not good.

My surgeons believe the nerve damage from my neck injury is contributing to the shoulder problem---the nerves are not relaying the correct messages to the muscles of the arm resulting in atrophy and weakness. I have until April 28th to correct this problem or I will have to have a mini surgery to release the adhesion's and scar tissue; my prayer is for a total release of this problem area by April 27th. I would appreciate your prayers for yet another miracle.

The journey continues and I continue to learn new things about myself and about my Lord---looking forward thankfully each and every day.

Thanks to you all for your love and continued prayers; they both mean so very much to me.

Blessings,
Kathy

A

It's been a few weeks without much change in my healing process, but I can say after last week, I do feel improvement in the intensity of the pain in my neck :) PTL!!

After having pain for so long you forget what it's like not to have pain, then suddenly, one day things seem different!
Last week seemed to be the week of noticeable change; less pain, more sleep, more energy during the day and less muscle fatigue in the neck. Lots to be thankful for!

The new activity level with therapists has really improved my overall state of mind; making forward progress finally feels very good. I've been stepping up my activity level at home as well as with therapists; isometrics for the neck, some great meyofascial work, and adding five pounds to my shoulder workout. I never would have imagined I'd be thrilled to be lifting five pounds, but I really am super thrilled about it and very sore after my workout! Crazy when you consider I was pulling 150 pounds just before my accident.

The reality is that I still have a long way to go to be physically strong, but I'm thankful to be moving forward. I still have a couple of challenges; one, bone growth in the transplant area and this is just a matter of waiting and watching for another month---not much I can do to help this other than be very gentle with the body and continue stimulating the bone cells with my fancy Bone Cell Stimulation Collar. (I really feel like I'm in a Star Trek episode everytime I put it on :))

The other challenge/goal that I'm working on is breaking the adhesion's in my right shoulder; it's a bit frozen and my doc has given me one more month to break the adhesion's through physical therapy. If I can't accomplish this by April 29th he'll be looking at other options, most likely he'll break them under anesthesia----needless to say, I'm working really hard to make this happen so I don't have to have another in patient procedure. As much as I love my doc, I would really rather not have another session in his operating room.

On with the journey with great joy and thankfulness! Thank you for your continued prayer for bone cell growth and safety as my activity level increases-----by God's grace I can pray for His will in this journey. PTL