The Daily Hailey

Thank you SO MUCH to our friends and family who have expressed their care and concern about Brady and his entry into the pain game! Years ago, when I began having babies, I asked Brady what had been the biggest pain he’d ever experienced, and he told me a story about wiping out on his bike, and getting some road rash on his legs. At the time, I kind of laughed, as I can’t imagine that is anywhere near the pain of childbirth. It has been confirmed by Brady that his current pain surpasses the pain of his childhood road rash. So, while there is no comparison needed, this is the most pain he’s been in in his entire life.

It isn’t a secret that we were very discouraged after Brady’s last physio appointment. He was expecting to see a ortho specialist and saw someone who simply discounted all of what he was doing, and but did not tell him what to do in replacement of those things. It was maddening for both he and I. We eagerly awaited a follow-up with Brady’s original physio to see what he had to say.

Brady said he listened to his explanation and frustration around the “specialist” appointment with a bit of a smirk on his face. He knew the other physio personally. It turns out that they agree on a lot, disagree on some, and the biggest thing – the second guy just sucks at explaining things. There was a decently long discussion. I’ll try and break it down into points here.

(From here on out, I’m going to say physio #1 about Brady’s original guy, and physio #2 about the guy we were expecting to be a specialist. I’d go with names, but physio #1’s name is Brad, and with Brady’s name, its going to get WAY too confusing! Bear with me!)

Brady’s physio is very happy that he is not in need of surgery! That means that everyone agrees that Brady does not have permanent damage. Woot!! He is also very happy that Brady has been able to work a couple of light duty days!

Brady’s stretches and exercises are working (despite what physio #2 says) and he will go forward with those. That was explained to Brady as simply a new school of thought in physiotherapy, and that physio #2 is more old school, and doesn’t value the new school as much. So be it. As physio #1 said to Brady, now that we’ve confirmed there is no permanent damage, they’ve got all they need from physio #2 and they’ll keep doing whats working.

Brady had a herniated disc, and with that, there is often a tie to the bladder. It can show up like this, where a person can’t pee when they want, or it can be spastic, and he could have to pee all the time. Or worst case scenario, there is incontinence to think about. So thank the Lord, Brady is on the lesser of the evils!

Brady’s back pain is slowly improving, but his numbness is at an all-time high. And he still cannot fully empty his bladder. That has not improved at all. Physio #2 said “it’ll get better in 6 weeks to 6 months.” And that was it. Physio #1 explained it really clearly. He reminded us that, the disc can heal up and his pain can go away, and that will happen closer to the 6 week mark. But, nerves are often damaged in these situations, and if you’ve ever had nerve damage, you know it can take even up to a year for it to heal. It is VERY likely Brady will fully regain the feeling, but it may take a long time, and thats where the “6 weeks to 6 months” guesstimation shows up.

A BIG takeaway from that follow-up physio appointment was a new way to sit in his van. Brady can be surprisingly pain free at the end of a work day, but that drive home just destroys him, and he comes into the house hunched over like an old man. In his case, his body is so far extended, he actually has to work backwards and try to compress it a little. So rather than working for nice, tall, straight posture, he has built up under his thighs, and shuffled his butt forward, putting his body in a C shape. It sounds grossly uncomfortable, but he feels SO much better after a drive now!!

So. We’re working with it. Brady has little bits of work popping up here and there, and he can take most of it. Not all, but most. Its SO hard to turn work down after being off for so long, but so be it. God has never just not showed up for us. He always has and will continue to. Please keep praying for Brady’s healing!