J.C. Newton

Note: I wrote this blog on Monday and thought I had published it. Nope. So here it is. Yet another medical update…

My body is a mess. Joints and muscles, bones and nerves… just about every major function of my body has been compromised in some way. I wish I could blame it on my professional football career. Or on my bull riding habit. I wish I could call it “turning 40” or “plain old wear and tear.” To be honest, those would be amazing answers. Instead, as a popular country song cries out these days, “I ain’t got nobody to blame but me.”

I did a lot of sitting behind a desk in my younger days, staring at a computer screen with a mouse in my right hand and a keyboard in my left. The desk chair was ergonomic — ironically — but the lifestyle was really bad for my back. When I left work I went home and sat on the couch. I ate a quick dinner. I watched three hours of television. I spent time on the home computer. Then I went to bed. Each day was the same routine. Not good, right? Exercise was elusive. My body was in trouble and I never knew it.

Today the lovely Mrs. Newton and I consulted with a neurosurgeon here in the XNA. I have always considered seeing a surgeon to be the final step in treating my troubled spine. Nobody wants back surgery. I certainly never did! But pain is a fickle thing. In the past I have had good days and bad days, days with minor pain and days of sitting in a recliner unable to function normally.  Sadly, these days I’m in pain constantly, from my head to my joints to my spine.

My latest target for medical help is my spine. My back resembles a melted candy cane and my peppermint stripes are all twisted, skull to pelvis. I’m in nerve pain daily up and down my back. Many times I can handle the pain with grace. Many times I cannot. So I wanted to know from an expert what can be done — beyond physical therapy — to alleviate my pain.

The visit with Dr. Luke Knox went great. He sent a lot of time talking to us, examining me, and showing us the 15 X-Rays they took of my back today, along with a recent MRI. I’ve found few doctors who will take ample time to attend to their patients and answer questions. A frustration I have with modern doctors is their tendency to ask 10 questions, hold up your arm, and then guess at what’s wrong with you. They see you for eight minutes, charge you $400 and leave you feeling disrespected in some way. But Dr. Knox was wonderful. Even when he repeatedly said, “That doesn’t look good.”

We found out several things.

1. My right hip is half an inch lower than my left hip. This is degenerative and has come from the gradual worsening of my spine. I will need to try a shoe extension (like a booster seat inside my right shoe) to level my hips. This will relieve some pressure on my lower and mid back and — hopefully — relieve some pain. But I will probably limp for a while until I get used to the change in leg length.

2. 

   My C6-C7 vertebrae and discs are troublemakers. Rascals. Rebels. The insurgents of my spine. Both discs between the bones are nudging into my spinal cord, with C7 taking the lead. I’ve known about these discs since 2010 but the fact that they are still causing trouble after years of chiropractic care and two bouts of physical therapy is, well… troubling. Surgery is not recommended yet. Pain shots are forthcoming, I think.

3. My spinal issues might be hereditary. Dr. Knox asked us, “Do you have kids?” We said, “No. Not yet.” Then he asked, “Do you want kids?” We said, “Yes.” Then he told us to watch out for scoliosis in our children and get it treated as soon as possible when it is discovered. I asked whether there is a higher risk for our children and he said, “Yes.”
4. My age is affecting my ability to recover. If I were 18, the doctor said, there might be a chance to correct my spinal flaws. But at 41, it is very unlikely that we can correct my back. My body doesn’t react as well to correction, so I guess you can say that I’m stuck in my ways! Ha!
5. There is a new kind of physical therapy for people like me who cannot endure the normal exercises. It’s a machine that tests and calibrates according to your back muscle strength. I’m still reading up on it. The PT clinic upstairs from the doctor’s office was fourth in the nation in offering it. I start on January 31st. It should help alleviate some of my spinal pressure.

Anyways, I’m decompressing inside Panera Bread after our appointment. Pain is never fun and I’m still learning how to live gracefully while suffering. It is tough! Grace is easy when things are good. Joy is easy, too. But when we hurt, it often takes a Herculean effort to simply smile, much more to bear with our loved ones and exercise patience. My lovely wife has both seen and endured my worst behavior when I am really suffering. I am not fun! But my heart still seeks to find a way to be graceful through this phase of my life. “Hello, Holy Spirit? I have another job for You…”

Be God’s!