Strive for Mediocrity

Yesterday, the day after I arrived in Seattle, I had a physiotherapy appointment based on the referral from my physiotherapist in Kenya. We had also requested an MRI order from my doctor in Kenya but that didn't come through to the States - it's probably still in a file folder somewhere. My physiotherapy appointment was scheduled for around 3pm. Yesterday morning I received a call from the physiotherapist's office asking if they could move up my appointment to noon - which turned out to be the first of a series of small miracles. 

Because my pain had subsided so much during our travel we were hopeful that it was a sign of good progress. Unfortunately, during my physiotherapy assessment here in Seattle, my physiotherapist was concerned about the lack of sensation in my left leg, a reflex failure, and a decrease in muscle strength in my left big toe compared to my right. While she iced my back, she made some calls and got me a referral to a local doctor for an assessment. She made an appointment for me at 2pm the same day - the second of a series of small miracles. 

At the doctor's office we went through the whole thing again from the beginning - onset of symptoms, history of back pain, current condition and whatnot. During this the doctor talked about the various ways people handle pain. He gets plenty of patients, he says, who indicate they are in unbelievable pain, agonizing, so he sends them for an MRI and they do, in fact, have a very tiny, little, itty-bitty disc bulge.

Then, he said, there are two patients who stand out to him. The first was one of his own physician's assistants who is also a body-builder. His complaint was a small pain in his hip that wouldn't go away. He was referred for physical therapy (to my physiotherapist - which is part of the reason my physiotherapist was able to get me in to see this doctor on one hour's notice). My physio noticed a weakness during her assessment of this physician's assistant again in this big-toe strength test and reported those results to the doctor who eventually sent the physician's assistant for an MRI which revealed a HUGE disc herniation on both sides, a herniation so large that the nerve itself was compressed to the point it wasn't even visible on the MRI. Despite this huge compression, the patient was managing the pain and functioning virtually as normal. The second patient that stood out to my doctor was a patient with a reality TV show about hunting in the African bush - a guy who goes hunting, shoots some huge animal and hefts it out of the bush on his back. This guy also was functioning, walking, but during the doctor's assessment he was shifting in his chair - a bit uncomfortable. This patient also was eventually sent for an MRI and had a huge disc herniation. As my doctor then said to me, when you go to the doctor's office, you should strive for mediocrity. You don't want to be exceptional. 

Because of my symptoms, the doctor decided to refer me for an MRI and stepped out to ask his staff to see if they could fit me in as soon as possible. A few minutes later he returned and asked if I was available in 5 minutes for an MRI - another small miracle of timing! So at 3:15pm I had an MRI appointment just downstairs from my doctor's office. My MRI was finished and the radiologist would take a look at it when he was available and send the results to my doctor as soon as possible.

We got back to my parent's home at 4:45pm just in time to take a call from my doctor. "Remember," he said, "those two guys I was telling you about? Those two guys who stand out because they were somehow managing huge levels of pain and functioning despite these huge disc herniations?" "Yes," I replied." "Well," he said, "now I have three guys who fall into that category. You have a 13mm disc herniation. When the radiologist sent me the results he was astounded you could even walk. When I told him you're not taking any pain medication he was even more amazed. Tomorrow morning I'll have my staff try to get you an appointment with a neurosurgeon."  My doctor kept me on the anti-inflamatory I'm currently on and prescribed a steroid as well. 

Now we're at a cross-roads. I've canceled one trip to Texas already so I could be available to see a specialist on Tuesday next week. Depending on his recommendation, I may be in for back surgery or some kind of strict regimen to reduce this herniation and start to recover. Either way, there's a very real possibility that I won't be traveling as planned for the next few weeks. In short, I managed to get home not because I was getting any better but because my pain was somehow relieved when it shouldn't have been. I'm pretty sure I know how that happened.  Praise the Lord for bringing me home safely and without pain. We're happy that we're here with family while this plays itself out. While we're concerned about my condition and long-term recovery, we're also frustrated about the possibility of canceling visits and speaking engagements that we have set up across the country. We'll know more after our Tuesday appointment. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, notes, and support. God is good.

-Shauen