Theresa’s surgery

Theresa had her surgery this morning and it went beautifully. She came through with flying colors. The surgeon didn’t see anything he wasn’t expecting and did see plenty that he believed would be causing her symptoms. So we’re very hopeful that the damage from the first two surgeries has been corrected and she can now finally start to heal.

Because of all the work they had to do removing the old bone and hardware from the first surgeries, there was a lot of digging around and she’s predictably inflamed. She’s having a LOT of post-operative pain so keep those prayers coming! She might be coming home tomorrow, we’ll just have to see how she progresses.

And she wanted me to thank all of you who are praying for her and us. We were sitting in the waiting area this morning before they took her back and she just smiled and said “I can feel it, people are praying.”

Your support means more to us than you know.

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Testimonial about a woman with Parkinsons

thought I’d pass this testimonial on. It’s a woman who brings her mother up from South Texas. She, her husband and her mom drive about 4 hours one way to get here, have a clinic visit and then get in the car and drive 5 hours back. The mom has Parkinsons, is in her 80s and when she came in was in a wheelchair and could not stand up without being pulled up by someone else.

I am so proud of this family, and the client in particular. We all know people in their 70s or 80s who get some health affliction and then say “well, I’m just too old to get better“ and they give up. This client is a fighter, she WORKS. I mean, look at the price she pays just to GET to our clinic. And I had a mom with advanced Parkinsons. I know what it’s like to get her ready to travel. By the time you have her dressed and loaded in the car you want to go back into the house and take a nap, not get on the road and spend 4 hours driving!

This is a testimonial about Egoscue, yes. But it’s more of a testimonial about the human body. I told the client “I guarantee you that much of what you attribute to your disease is not the disease, it’s what you have allowed the disease to take from you. Are you ready to begin taking it back?” And she smiled the most beautiful smile at me and nodded and said yes, she was ready. And then she got to work.

So way to go guys, and keep up the awesome work, you all rock!

OMGSH!
Rick, I had to drop you a note to tell you how great mother is doing. By the fourth day of doing her e-cises I noticed that she was sitting up straight on the edge of the couch eating from a table that Tom built for her. The incredible part about that was that she had no pillows propping her back. I usually have to place several pillows behind her back in order for her to eat from the table and even with that she lists to the right. She was sitting up straight and balanced and though her head is still forward it is much higher than it has been. She put herself in that position.

Also, 3 days ago she was sitting on the couch and just got up grabbed her cane and walked to the bathroom by herself. Rick, it was automatic, she didn’t even think about it. I have not seen mother get up from a sitting position by herself in 3 years. She is consistently walking with her cane on her own now.

Also, when she got into bed at night she was unable to lift her feet off the floor to place them on the bed, she would have to lean back on the bed and slowly wiggle her body until she could get them on the bed. Now she contracts her knees up and places them on the bed. All automatic.

Just one more thing Rick, mom has macular degeneration and it has progressed in spite of our efforts to increase nutrients to combat it. One day last week she was sitting on the couch and she reached over and picked up her printed e-cises. I could see her just staring at them, then turn the page and stare again. She finally looked up at me and said “I can’t believe I can read these” Could it be the e-cises are doing that for her, I mean what else could it be?

Every day now she is up out of bed and says “Let’s do my e-cises”. She has only missed two days since we last saw you.

Her muscles are waking up. I am so thankful for Egoscue.

Beth

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Theresa update

Many of our friends and clients know but I wanted to set the context for the rest of you.

My wife, fellow therapist and clinic owner, Theresa, is having spine surgery tomorrow. Your prayers and positive energy are most appreciated. Surgery is scheduled for 7am.

Theresa had an accident years back and a piece of bone dislodged from one of the bones in her neck. The hope was that it would be absorbed by the body but in 2005 it lodged in her spinal cord and caused serious problems and had to be removed. The problem was the only way to get to it was through a disc that was perfectly healthy, so they had to remove the disc to get to it and then do a fusion. Well, the fusion caused problems with the level above so 9 months later they fused the level above. The entire time Theresa is complaining about severe neck pain and a feeling of instability. The Xrays looked fine, showed no problems, so the surgeon shrugged his shoulders and said the problem wasn’t surgical, best of luck to you.

So earlier this year we finally consult with a new surgeon who orders a CT scan instead of an xray and we find out that lo and behold, the two fusions never fused. Theresa has been walking around with what essentially amounts to a broken neck in two places for the last 3 years. So, the surgery tomorrow is to correct these issues.

Obviously we’re not happy that things have led to this point but we are grateful that we’ve discovered this and found a surgeon in whom we are confident. We’re looking forward to getting this done and behind us and getting Theresa’s neck finally stabilized. She’s an amazingly strong woman to have kept persevering over these last few years. It’s been beyond difficult and she has my deep admiration and respect, in addition to my love.

I’ve had a lot of people ask me to give them updates on how she’s doing and I just can’t individually update that many people, so I’ve said I would do it here on the blog. Hence, this preliminary post. I wanted what I post tomorrow after the surgery to make sense to those who weren’t already aware of what’s happening.

I’ll post an update after I hear from the doctor and get a chance to see her tomorrow after the surgery. Thanks to everyone who has been sending us their prayers and well wishes, they are MUCH appreciated!

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