Update on Jim

Well, Jim is still in Presby hospital. While he says the nurses aren't as nice at some other places, he has certainly been treated well by the doctors. Every test possible has been given, and when he's discharged, more will continue.

According to all the scans, Jim's back/neck is normal, meaning that it has the normal osteoarthritis, a few bumps, etc. Back injections are not out of the question in the near future however, because with Jim, something that would cause us discomfort takes his pain level from a 6 to a 9, and makes it unbearable.

So, what has changed in the past 6 months? They aren't sure. It could be new meds he's on, or just the nature of what is causing his pain. And what is causing his pain is peripheral neuropathy. But it's much worse than we thought. Jim had a nerve study test conducted. Many tests. Mary Jo and Tom mentioned that this results said that the nerves were not pinched off, which was good. And that is. The problem is with the results of the rest of the test that just came in late last night. Jim has SEVERE nerve damage. Nerves do not heal themselves, so barring a miracle from God, this IS the rest of our lives. I haven't even begun to emotionally deal with all the ramifications of what that means for us short term or long term, but I wanted to write that so that you can pray for us, as we allow this to sink in.

The teams of doctors that is working with us is FANTASTIC. Jim will more than likely go from 30 mg of methadone a day to something like 350 mg a day, but they do that slowly, bumping him up once a week. He's also on some new medicines that work with severely damaged nerves, so it will just be about tweaking medicines. He will also be getting much higher doses of dilauded to take in between the methadone.

Please please pray for us. Right off the cuff, this sounds like a death sentence to me. There goes my dreams of us taking our grandkids to the cottage. Jim teaching them how to fish. Our years of ministry out the tubes. It sounds like selling the house and moving to a condo. It sounds like no vacations. It sounds like Jim not driving, and weekly doctor visits for a very long time. It sounds like co pays, co pays, co pays. It sounds like having even less money, and it sounds like I'll never see my old Jimmy again, and it just breaks my heart. I have to go now.

Please pray for us, and consider being willing to help with rides to the hospital, encouraging Jim to take his meds properly, engaging with him, counseling him in regards what to do with cottage, home, etc. For now, pray though. Thanks.

Jim HAS to