Where it goes from here

Yesterday afternoon was nerve-racking and semi-productive. J went to see a neurosurgeon and we were told (thankfully) that he doesn't need surgery. Instead, he was able to receive a epidural/steriod shot in his back which is supposed to relieve the inflamation which will in turn relieve the pain. The herniation of the disk will still be there, but the "madness" that is going on around it and causing all of the pain should be taken care of. Here's to hoping he only needed this one shot. DR said that it can sometimes take 2-3 shots to be effective. J was such a trooper. I really hope that he doesn't have to have any more. I had an epidural during labor, so I understand how freaked out he was and how much it hurts. The difference with his is that he had all of the medicine put in at once whereas with mine the medicine was put in via an IV type bag/device and spread out evenly over time. I have to type this so that I remember. The nurse and the technician at the hospital were great! JK and KM were helpful and really helped J when he couldn't even get out of the wheelchair at first. They showed compassion and did their best to lighten the mood to help J feel a little better, even though they understood J was about to have a needle shot in his back. I am so grateful to them because of that. Also because by the time we got to the hospital (after running to the DR first and then a specialist and then the hospital) J was worn out/in pain and I was all nerves. There was so much adreneline running through us and we hadn't eaten since that morning - it was nice to come in and have them take care of us. I also must thank his parents. They came down early in the day to watch Baby so that we didn't have to take him along to all of these appointments. That was so awesome, I can't even begin to express how grateful I am. We are trying to figure out what to do for them as a thank you. They say that we don't "owe" them anything, but I have to do something. J and I were thinking of mailing them a gas card. They live 45 minutes (50 miles) away so it would definitely be something they could use. It's also moments like this when I realize how lucky I am to be married to J and to have his family like me and consider me one of their own. So many people don't get along with their in-laws and couldn't ask them for help in a pinch. I have been so fortunate. So, that's a brief summary of where things are at. The DR said it could take approx. 2 days for the medicine to get to all the affected areas and for J to feel better. Here's hoping this takes. J is already feeling better, although still sore. He will be for a little while longer, but at least it's not like it was.