The Daily Hailey

I’ve mentioned a handful of times now that Brady’s not doing 100% health wise these days. I wasn’t trying to be cryptic by not going into details, its just been uncertain, and we’ve been working to figure out what’s happening. 

To be clear, this is still all what we think. We have good guesses based on good information and intelligent professionals. Things will be confirmed next week, but we’ll talk more about that shortly.

I also want to be clear and upfront about the fact that Brady is pre-reading this and I have his total permission to share all of these things on the internet. There are personal details, but here we are, being open and honest, as we tend to be! Not a lot to hide over here!

Earlier this summer, Brady got a sore back. This was not surprising, considering the amount of work we were putting into our property and then the RV. Brady’s back would be sore at the end of the day, but it always loosened up when he got moving, and it reset overnight. We very easily wrote it off as busyness and Brady’s muscles readjusting after being off work for a while. 

As summer wore on, it worsened. Basically, his back hurt if he wasn’t moving. So we kept busy! It was totally survivable if he was moving. 

Once we got the camper to the lake, home projects slowed down and his back felt worse. It was reminiscent of the work injury that Brady suffered three years back, where he was in physio for months to repair seized ribs. It was a long road that first time, and he was discouraged even thinking this could be that old injury flaring up again. 

When pulling out those old exercises didn’t do any good, it was clear he needed to go back to physio and get a treatment in person. We figured it could need some adjustment, and then the exercises will keep it where it needs to go. 

Brady’s physio confirmed this – that his ribs were seized together in a tight band around his body, and needed loosening and muscle strengthening. It had previously been a group of four ribs seized together, and now it was five. Worse than the original injury! So, more exercises and work and pain meds. For a couple of weeks. More appointments. More money we don’t have. It was exhausting for Brady, discouraging, expensive, and frustrating. 

And then everything got SO much worse. Brady’s legs went numb, and he stopped being able to pee. (Yes, I’m allowed to talk about this.) He could pee when he really needed to pee, but hypothetically, going pee before bed so he wouldn’t have to get up in the night, that was out of the question. Or it would take a solid half hour. If he pushed too hard for it, his ribs would hurt him SO badly. If there was ever relief for his back, his legs would be more numb, and vice versa. We knew there was bigger issues when that started. Alongside ALL the pain and frustration, he was getting back spasms in the night, and wasn’t sleeping. I pushed Brady to talk to his physio about the peeing, and when he did, and it wasn’t getting better, his physio waved the white flag and said he couldn’t treat Brady anymore until he had seen a doctor. 

So the boy FINALLY went to see the doctor! And what a day that was for him! 😆😩

He and Dr. Guselle hadn’t seen each other in a while! They caught up a bit, and talked out all of his symptoms. She teased him about trying to wear a mask over his beard…

and made some decisions for tests. She did some sensitivity tests on his legs, feet, and butt, and printed off requisitions for blood and X-rays that she ideally wanted that day. She paid me a HUGE complement and asked Brady what I thought the issue was!! I was pretty honoured she’d ask, but she has proven time and time again that she trusts me. I loved that! Aaaaand after all that, she asked if he’d be ok to have a rectal exam, to check for inflammation and all that fun stuff. He wants answers as much as I do, so he agreed. 

I say again, yes, I’m allowed to talk about this on here. 

Brady’s description of the exam is probably a bit too off-colour to post on here, but he was a good sport and said it wasn’t so bad. More awkward than anything. But Dr. Guselle, being the BEST doctor in the world, congratulated him on his first ever rectal exam as she left the room. I laughed FAR too hard about that. That being said, the exam was fine, and she found no immediate issue all up in there. So Brady left, and called me with all the info, and told me he was going for blood and X-rays in the north end. Dr. Guselle called him along the way and lamented that she thought he would be able to get an ultrasound on his bladder to see if he was retaining any urine after he peed, but that she was informed it needed to be done via catheter. As if the rectal exam wasn’t enough, he was a good sport and went back in that afternoon for that second procedure. 

Yes, I’m allowed to talk about these things on the internet. 

He went back to the doctors office, peed, met Dr. Guselle’s nurse, and then set up for his catheter procedure, to see what was left in there. 

For reference:
Anything over 50 mls of retained urine is considered “significant.” 
Anything over 150 mls gets you on an emergent MRI list.
Anything over 250 mls sends you to the ER immediately. 

Brady was retaining 85 mls. 

So while he didn’t qualify for anything “urgent,” it was considerably more than he should be retaining. 

Brady’s blood and X-rays all came back clear, and negative for all the scary stuff. MS and things like that. So that was a relief! Dr. Guselle made a bunch of calls on Brady’s behalf, to his physio, and to her contact at Spinal Pathways. She was able to book an assessment for a CT scan on October 13th. Thats SOON!!! Two weeks from the beginning of Brady actually seeking help. Two weeks is FAST in the world of big scans and specialists, but its SLOW in the world of not being able to stand confidently or empty ones bladder fully. So praaaaaise the Lord for an appointment! At this point, it is mere days away. It will only be for the assessment, not the scan itself, but hopefully the specialists will agree that he needs to be seen asap. 

Everyone involved has the same suspicion. Brady very likely has a slipped disc. We believe it has slipped in a more uncommon way. Its been described to us that it usually slips outwards from the back of the spine, but that it seems Brady’s has slipped in towards his body rather. Which isn’t unheard of, but is less common. Since this initial diagnosis has been put forward, Brady’s physio has consulted other professionals, and they’ve made a new plan in how to manage his pain and try to repair his back. There is small progress, meaning Brady has pain-free moments again. But he is on a consistent pain med regimen, taking stomach protectors and relaxers on top of basic pain killers. All is being monitored by our doctor and his physio, who are working closely together for his sake. Brady diligently does his exercises multiple times a day, takes his meds on time, to a point where he wakes up to an alarm in the night to take another relaxer. He works hard to know when to move and when not to. He is not a guy who likes to just sit still. Its been a crazy challenge in every way. 

So. We ask for prayer. Its been a crazy year of physical pain for our family, and its currently Brady’s turn. He has been cleared to do some light duty work, and while we both feel somewhat urgent about having income again (Remember income?? We do not…) we also feel pretty urgent about not messing up his body any further than it already is. So, pray for wisdom and guidance. Pray for healing. Pray against back surgery. Pray for miracles. Pray for God’s will, above all else. Pray for Brady!