Oh the joy of Pearl and the oh the pain.

We left Lake Havasu on February 3rd and drove to my sister's in Pinon Hills, Ca.  We stayed with her for three days.  Of course she had a "brother to do" list ready for me.  I was able to complete everything she had on the list.

We arrived at Stephen and Neeley's house in Sacramento on Thursday, February 6th.  We unloaded the trailer with all the stuff we would need during our stay.  The baby was due on the 13th so we had a few days to hang out.  Seeing that I had a full five days before the baby was due, I put the trailer in storage and packed up the truck with clothes and tools and headed to Klamath Falls to do some work on the house to make it more sell-able (please pray God would be gracious to us and bring just the right person to buy our home).

I got into Klamath Falls on Saturday afternoon and went right to work on the house.  Some of the projects that were awaiting me were as follows:
  1.  Move the refrigerator back into the kitchen and move the cabinets back into the utility room
  2.  Refinish the exterior French doors
  3.  Stage the house with furniture and decorations from storage
  4.  Shampoo the carpeting
  5.  Clean out the chimney flue
  6.  Lots and lots of yard work. The yard work took two full days.  I had to cut the grass, pull weeds, and trim every bush and tree.  Then I loaded all the cuttings into a 8 X 16 foot trailer as well as my truck bed.  Had it not been for the help of Chris Myron and Lyle Willoughby, I never would have gotten everything done.
   7.  Wax and polish kitchen floor

While in Klamath, I stayed at Les and Lois Tucker's house.  My days were busy from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., but on Wednesday afternoon I finished. I jumped back in the truck and drove back to Sacramento.  I drove five hours straight and pulled up in front of Stephen and Neeley's house.  But when I opened the door, I could barely walk.  I had an excruciatingly sharp pain in my left hip.  Now, I am not a stranger to pain, but this was the worst pain that I ever had.  This certainly was not my normal pain from my lower back.  I know what that feels like.  My first thought was bursitis. I figured that I'll just take a bunch of ibuprofen and be better in the morning.  After a sleepless night, the pain was even worse and was spreading to my back and down my left leg..  I took some old Hydrocodone but even that did not help.

So now it is Thursday morning and I am home with Jack (13 months old) and everyone is at the hospital for the birth of Pearl.  Fortunately, Jack was on his best behavior and was no trouble.  Even with all the pain, I managed to care for him from 8:30am-6pm (his bedtime). Pearl Ann Wetzel was born that evening at 10:37 p.m. and was a perfect 7.5 lbs and 19 inches. 

Dayle came home late that night and she was able to relieve me of my Jack duties.  Now I can concentrate on the pain in my side.  By this time, I can't walk without the assistance of a cane.  The pain is so intense that I am double dosing on pain killers.  When Stephen and Neeley come home with the baby on Saturday morning, Stephen said, "You are going to the Emergency Room."  He took me to the VA Hospital at Mather Field.  The doctor confirmed my suspicions that it was bursitis.  He gave me a shot to reduce inflammation and gave me a bunch of drugs.  He told me to go home and that I will be better in a few days.  Stephen and Neeley convinced me to go to an acupuncturist which I did twice.  After shoving about a thousand needles into me, the pain decreased some but the relief was very short lived.  I don't think I will be returning for any more acupuncture treatments.

After a few days, the pain has not subsided and is getting worse.  So, on Thursday I went back to the ER.  This time another doctor took x-rays and determined that I did not have bursitis but rather I am having a Sciatica episode.  Now I have had sciatic pain and this was not sciatic pain.  This doctor gave me even stronger pain killers and muscle relaxers.  After taking the pills I had another sleepless night with no relief from the pain and I still have to use a cane to get around.

On Friday morning, I decide to find a chiropractor.  My first thought was chiropractic but I did not think this was an issue that a chiropractor could fix.  I checked the yellow pages and called one that was near by and he told be to come right away.  Doctor Michael Symes and I sat down and he discussed my condition and my history.  He said just by my symptoms he suspected that I had a pinched nerve at L-4.  (L-4 is where all my back problems originate.)  He got me up on his table and quickly ruled out sciatica.  He was able to adjust me and immediately took away that severe pain in my hip.  I am still having problems with leg pain and muscle spasms but it is getting better every day. 

Next week is the Shepherd's Conference. This is the highlight of my year and I don't want to miss it. Therefore, I will be going to the Chiropractor every day until I am past this episode. 

So what causes this, you might ask?  The simple answer is that I am getting older and because of my weakened back I need to take things slowly and not work 16 hour days.  I need to take frequent breaks and do my stretching exercises.  I also need to ride my bike more, hike more, and exercise more.

Just before we left Lake Havasu I had the privilege to speak on a Sunday evening at Bethany Bible Church.  Guess what I spoke on?? James 1 "Count it joy my brethren when you encounter various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance..." God seems to always test us so that we live what we preach!!  Just thinking about all the pain Christ endured for us while mine was no where close... what a loving, gracious God.

So now that the pain is manageable I am able to resume my studies and my continued preparation for the Men's Retreat.  We are still looking forward to a full Summer of ministry.

Shelley and Dayle
Semper Famulus