Pain

This last few days has been interesting... in that now that I "know" that there is a reason for my pain I have felt that I can actually 'feel' it.  Does that make sense?  For many years it has been implied that the pain is all in my head, when in reality I knew I could actually feel it.

I am pretty sure that my first injury (my lower herniated disc) was when I worked at a meat market in Prince George back in 1987.  I was lifting things that were way too heavy and one day I ended up spasming and going home, the pain actually made me vomit and when I did so I spasmed again with such force I could not stand straight up, and remained in that pain for days.  My dear husband came from a family of 5 strong boys and an extremely strong father, so I am pretty sure that he just felt that I should 'buck up'.  Sadly I tried... only to continue to damage my back more over the last 22 years.

The herniated disc in the upper back I believe happened gradually over time... 4 babies in 6 years, carrying 2 on my hip at the same time (Trevor and Tavis are one year, one month and one day apart), and all the regular everyday house hold maintenance attributed to the injury.  When the boys were babies I was told by 3 doctors, a physiotherapist and massage therapist that I should not LIFT anything... pretty much impossible when you have 2 babies that need to nap, have diapers changed, be soothed, etc.  At one point my mom came and stayed for a month and after being relieved of ALL duties and going to massage I recovered enough to carry on!

Every day I feel tension in my neck, shoulders and upper back and it has been that way for so many years now I can't remember having a day where I didn't feel PAIN, but for the first time I have given myself permission to actually FEEL it... because now I know there is a real reason for it... it is not in my head after-all.  Tomorrow I go to town, I am going to pick up the prescriptions that the doctor gave me. It is a pain management program (heavy duty drugs).  At first I was hesitant... I did a lot of research and asked some friends (one being a pharmacist) what their opinion was and I have decided to at least give it a try.  I would like to test and see what it would be like to have a day where I feel NO PAIN... hmmmm... not sure that is possible... but I am going to give it a try.  I also had a few friends recommend ART (Active Release Technique) and apparently there is a certified technician in the Miramichi.  I am going to line up an appointment to see if that might make a difference as well.  Thankfully, for now, we have medical coverage... we were without (except for basic government coverage) until September and this last year and half has taken a toll financially when it comes to medical procedures (trips to and from specialists, back and forth into town, carpal tunnel hand splints, etc etc etc) and medicine.

So I can say that things are looking up... even though I am still in pain I have hope that one day things may be resolved and I may not have to live with constant chronic nagging pain! That would be amazing!

I appreciate your prayers.
Love,
Charlene

Results of MRI and CT Scan

I have gotten the results of my MRI back.  I do indeed have a bulged disc in my upper back.  The CT Scan a while back showed one in my lower back.  From what I can tell the one in the lower back must have been aggravated during surgery and pinched a nerve which gave me sciatic pain in my left leg (for MONTHS... only now is it starting to be relieved).  The one in the upper back I am sure is what is causing all of my neck, shoulder and upper back pain (along with my arms tingling and falling asleep). It is nice just knowing, but now I am going to have to make some decisions about how "I" want to deal with this.

For now I will research and see what the best alternatives are and continue with the pain killers to subside the pain.  I would appreciate your prayers for a GOOD solution that is LASTING... so that one day I may live PAIN FREE!  Can't really imagine what that would be like but sure would like to find out!

Will keep you all posted,
Charlene

Christmas Time

Trevor, Meagan, Dennis, Talitha and Tavis... decorating the tree for Christmas, and getting a little carried away with the ornaments! ;)  Fun times!

December Update

This has been a very long year. Since last year I have had so many doctors appointments, specialist appointments, and various tests that I have begun to lose track of what's going on!  It started with a referral to the OB/GYN... in June I had surgery. After the endometrial ablation something happened to my lower back (must have aggravated my bulged disc.... which I LATER found out about) and caused sciatic pain to pulse down my leg from my lower back to the bottom of my foot.  It was so bad that I could barely walk or get around for 2 months.  After that point there was still constant pain but at least I could walk.  It was then that I had a back spasm that sent me to the floor of the shower.  After being rescued by my two girls I spent the next 3 days in bed unable to move at all!  In between these issues were some other issues.  I still had all the symptoms of cervical cancer and the first OB/GYN had not dealt with the cervix during the surgery.  So I was referred to a female OB/GYN in Moncton.  She did a colposcopy and found that I have a lot of nuisance cells but no cancer... so she has referred me to the colposcopy clinic again where she will cauterize the cervix.  This should take care of the bleeding problem.  She also tested me for infections just in case.  In October I went for a CT Scan and they found the bulged disc. I was scheduled to go to the neurologist in Moncton on the same day that I had my follow up appointment with the OB/GYN, but they cancelled it because of a H1N1 outbreak.  So I am going tomorrow to Moncton to stay overnight as I have an EARLY appointment on Thursday morning!  I am still awaiting my MRI which will scan my upper back, shoulders, neck and head. I am hoping that this will show the deeper problem as to why I have constant nagging neck, shoulder and upper back pain.  As well my visit to the neurologist should be able to give some help in that area as well... although part of the appointment is to find out why my arms, elbows, and hands go numb all the time.  Other than those things to deal with I have also had pneumonia this year, as well as numerous infections of different sorts.  I guess my immune system has been compromised and my body is just plain worn out!

The kids have had a better start to the school year than they did last year. It is unfortunate that they have been held back a year but they are dealing with it better this year than they did last.  Meagan will graduate in June, and she is VERY excited about this.  There are a lot of preparations to make, lots of fund raisers, and lots of money will go to pictures, ring, dress, etc... but it's her last year and we will do our best to make it special!  Trevor and Tavis are doing well (not that they love school or anything, but their good at it).  Talitha is working in Moncton and on December 11 her boyfriend will arrive from Kamloops to spend the 3 weeks over Christmas with our family. We are very excited about that.  Dennis is going to TRU in Kamloops but he is from Kenya.  He loves the Lord and the two of them are working sensibly on their relationship and keeping God in the center which is a HUGE blessing!

Pete has been working for a local trucking company called Gold Line.  He spends the better part of 5 days per week on the road (or waiting for unloading and reloading, sadly they are not paid by the hour).  He is looking for work out in Alberta for after Christmas.  We are praying that it will be a VERY good paying job as we have a lot of catching up to do after this year (no extended medical until September, so a lot of money has gone to prescriptions... as well as numerous large bills, such as firewood, a van, tires, and the list goes on and on and on).

We celebrate our 22nd Anniversary on the 19th of December.  We are not sure what we will do yet, but I am hoping that we can get away for a weekend... since we haven't done that for so many years I can't even remember when the last time was that it happened.  One night just isn't enough... but we'll see how it goes.

I am looking forward to my health issues being taken care of.  I have been using a lot of time working on crafts (in the form of presents mainly) but I would like to take some time to set up an Etsy account where I can sell some of the things that I create.  I would also like to one day put into practice my TEFL certificate and go somewhere to teach English as a Foreign Language.  It is imperative that early in the New Year I get to Namibia and Angola to sort out our STUFF.  This has been a great burden and I need to get it dealt with and settled.  So I am praying that the finances will come and I will be able to make it back to deal with things.... with enough time to take a 2 week break at the end of my visit.  My body, soul and mind NEED a break... one where I can rest and meditate on what God wants for me  now that we will not return to Africa for quite some time... as I did not feel any calling to return to Canada for any length of time it has been difficult to sort this out in my heart and mind.  It has caused a lot of stress for me and I need to get it sorted.

Well... we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
May God richly bless you.
Love,
Charlene (for the rest of the Knightly's)

Here is my other website... it details my Creative Side!  Enjoy!
http://charlenescreativecrafts.blogspot.com/

Silly Brothers

Not sure what got into them, but boy a face I made! haha

Vince's Birthday Party...

Here are all the grandkids of Carroll and Cathy Hill... minus Ashley & Henry (who were out west at the time) and Tyler (at Bible School).

The Three Siblings!

My Gorgeous Kids!