Okay, so I did...

I have to admit that I fell off the face of the earth for a while. A couple of weeks ago my wife went down for what we thought was her normal "back episode". Unfortunately it turned out to be so much more. By Friday of the first week (it started on a Monday) she was still in so much pain that she couldn't sit up or stand up, despite the fact that she was on muscle relaxers and pain killers.

So, we waited for the kids to go to school, then we called an ambulance (yes, she was in that much pain while ON the pain meds). The main reason for this was because she couldn't physically sit up for any length of time, just too much pain.

Once we got her into the hospital, they finally decided that someone on that many IV meds and still awake, let alone crying in pain, probably needed to be admitted. So they got her a room and on Saturday morning did the MRI and found a bulging disk that was pushing on her nerves.

We sat down and had a consult with a surgeon, who fortunately said that we should start with the least aggressive treatment of steroids and physical therapy.

Well, it's been a week since we came home from the hospital. Brandi is doing good and making progress. It's slow progress, but good progress. She had a goal the last two days to get up once and hour and walk to the kitchen. Which she did marvelously. She tries to stop by any clutter on the table or counter and weed through it, which I greatly appreciate. She is also completely off the meds, except for OTC stuff. She's a trooper.

The real BIG DEAL through this whole thing is the tremendous, I'm sorry that should have been TREMENDOUS, outpouring of love that we have experienced. God is awesome and amazing and he has used SO MANY people to bless us and take care of us in this situation. Every day last week we had someone who volunteered to keep an eye on the younger kids, while I took the older ones to school and then went to work. After an abbreviated work day (another blessing... a GREAT boss) I picked up the kids a couple of days, but three days someone else did. Then we were fed the most delicious meals every night. It's humbling and encouraging at the same time. God has truly blessed us with a fantastic group of friends who have just reached out in every way shape and form.

This week we have people lined up to help with kids until Friday, which we have an option to fill if Brandi thinks that she needs it. Right now she is hoping that having Bubba around to lift the baby will be enough help, but we are just going to wait and see. The last thing we want to do is go too fast and mess her back up again before it can really heal.

So on that note. If you aren't already praying for her, I would greatly appreciate your prayers for my wife. She is just an awesome wife and mother and she has been so strong through this whole thing. I tell you, you know you married well when your wife is on morphine and percocet and though STILL in pain is crying, not because it hurts, but because she just wants to go home and take care of her kids. She's awesome!