Brain MRI

Today Jason had an MRI of his brain and the doctor reported to us that his brain has completely healed! Even when looking at the MRI from March and knowing the exact areas involved, there is no evidence of anything wrong. Praise the Lord!

Over the next seven weeks Jason will be gradually tapering off the nerve medication. If at any point the pain kicks back in, he can go back up but we're hoping that when he leaves in August he'll just be on the seizure medication.

Jason has been experiencing twitching all over his body. The doctor explained to us that there is nothing to worry about. This just has to do with his muscles healing.

Jason's left foot is much hairier than the right one. This has been caused by the pain syndrome. Also, the coloring of this foot is different than his right foot. This too is pain syndrome-related.

We are still working on the flexibility of the left ankle and Jason is faithfully exercising and regaining his strength. He's enjoyed victories in tennis, ping pong and golf in the past week.

Jason is taking an English class at a community college. We felt this would be good preparation for taking a full schedule at UT in the fall.

Jason is looking forward to going away to school in August and being able to drive again in September. Two more milestones on the long list of accomplishments already realized.

Thank you so very much for all your prayers and the many ways so many of you have reached out to our family in the past several months. Please continue to pray that the pain syndrome would completely burn itself out, that the nerves will fully regenerate (as Jason is still dealing with minor pain along the inside of his left foot and decreased feeling sensation in the same area and parts of his left leg), that Jason will do fine without the nerve medication, that Jason will experience the peace of God when storms come his way and that his move to Knoxville and classes there will go well.

Last Physical Therapy

It's been two weeks since Jason has been to therapy and the increase in his strength is impressive. All the hours in the gym and exercising at home have proved to be very valuable. The main item yet to work on is the flexibility of Jason's left ankle. Scar tissue or adhesions may have developed there during the several weeks of horrible nerve pain when we couldn't even touch Jason's foot. This joint has to be manually manipulated by someone other than Jason to improve the flexibility and break through any adhesions that may be there.

Mike came in from playing tennis with Jason and he was mad. He said, "I thought I'd have an advantage over him longer than this!" We are so thankful for the rapid progress Jason has made over the past six weeks.

It appears Jason has become somewhat claustrophobic from this experience. He also anxiously aware of stormy conditions.

June 17th he'll have another MRI to see if Jason's brain has healed. That day the doctor will also examine Jason concerning the Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and decide if it's time to start backing off of some of the nerve pain medicine.

Thank you so very much to all of you faithful prayer warriors. One of my Bible study friends told me how passionately she's been praying for Jason. She can related because she's a young woman who suffers from MS. She used to walk with a cane, but now can walk on her own. She prayed for "crumbs" of God's power for her healing and she prayed with the same passions for "crumbs" for Jason's healing.

Please continue to pray the the CRPS will completely go away, the brain will completely heal, there will be increased flexiblity in the ankle and for Jason to be able to deal with his fears of storms and tight places.

Tennis Anyone?!

Jason has been diligently working to regain his strength and flexibility, especially in his left ankle. He continues to go to therapy, work out at the gym, do exercises at home and hit the tennis courts as often as someone is available to play with him.

Over Mother's Day Weekend, Kevin was home and the guys got out a couple of times to play. Then at therapy that next week, Jason told his therapist areas of concern he has in being able to play tennis like he used to be able to do. She worked with him during his therapy session to re-learn how to run side to side and change direction in an instant. She explained to Jason how he has to deliberately think through what used to come naturally. He also worked on jumping up using just his left foot. It's so exciting to think he's progressed so far from learning how to walk again to fine tuning his tennis footwork!

Thursday we headed to Knoxville for orientation at UT. We also spent a few days there so we could see Kevin and his girlfriend, who are both working this summer in Knoxville.

At the end of April, Mike, Debbie and Kevin signed up to play volleyball this summer. At that time we didn't think Jason would be physically able to join us. A couple of weeks later we found out that Kevin won't be here. We called and had Jason added to our roster in Kevin's place. It's amazing the progress he's made is such a short amount of time!

When Jason was in a lot of pain we were amazed at how the threat of storms really didn't seem to bother him. Now that he doesn't have the distraction of being miserable, stormy weather and news stories about weather-related catastrophies are much more difficult for him to handle.

Thank you for the many, many prayers on our behalf. God has been so good to us. Please continue to pray that the pain syndrome and the bruise on his brain would completely heal. Also, especially when the weather is bad, please remember to pray for Jason to have the peace of God during inclement weather.

Sooooo Much Improvement and Good News!

For about the past week Jason has been sleeping through the night. As of Saturday, he's also kicked the afternoon nap habit.

This past Saturday Mike, Jason and Steven headed to the tennis courts. Jason was able to return shots hit to him as Mike and Jason played against Steven.

Then Sunday the boys went out in the backyard and tossed the baseball around.

Monday Jason drove for the first time in three months. Jason and Debbie handed out drinks at a school fund-raising golf outing. (It will be four more months before Jason can drive a car.)

Jason frequently works out at the gym and at home. He's gained 6 pounds of pure muscle! Today he did his gimp-style of running making it 1/4 of a mile.

We went to the doctor this afternoon. She was so pleased to see his progress. The last time she saw him, just four weeks ago, he was wearing his brace, using crutches, not sleeping well, still in significant pain and really bummed out. Today he can walk almost normally, was able to be touched and poked by the doctor and has good strength in holding his foot up. The muscle just below the ankle bone towards the toe that allows your big toe to pull up and to turn your foot inside is very weak. His foot still shows mild symptoms of the Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, which is being controlled by 2400mg of Neurontin. June 17th we'll see his seizure doctor who will examine him and determine if he's made enough progress by then to start weaning him off the Neurontin.

Jason got the big news he was hoping for, he will be able to go to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in August.

Thank you so much for your prayers. Please continue to pray that the CRPS will completely go away and that the bruise on his brain will heal.

A Trip to the Zoo

Tuesday Jason and Debbie went to the Memphis Zoo. It was a beautiful afternoon. Jason was able to walk for an hour and a half -- and then he was exhausted!

Monday at physical therapy, Jason was interviewed for the ABC TV station in Jackson. Three students, Cheryl, Matt and Jason, will be featured this coming Sunday, Monday and Tuesday everning.

Jason therapists said that his quads and hamstrings appeared to be about back to the same strength as his right leg. He's also gained two more degrees of movement in the ankle (five more to go). The strength of his calf is now the focus. Jason stood on his left leg and tossed a weighted ball into a trampoline and then caught it. His therapist had to stabilize him at his waist. Jason's almost able to stand on his left leg without holding on to anything. In order to run you also need to be able to push up to the ball and toes of your foot, that's yet to come.

Our insurance declined our request to extend Jason's number of physical therapy treatments, so we'll go just once a week for the next three weeks to stretch out our time there.

Now that Jason is getting stronger, we'll be going to the gym so he can use the machines there to get his workout

Thank you so much for all your prayers. Please continue to pray for complete healing. Jason is really looking forward to being able to run and play tennis.

Great week!

Jason has had a great week! He's walking slowly without using the brace or crutches and walking more normally and smoothly each day.

This past weekend we went to Arkansas for Steven's basketball tournament. Jason went with us and did well walking around and being able to sit with his foot in a dependant position for extended lengths of time. Saturday afternoon we left Jason in the hotel room to take his customary afternoon nap.

At physical therapy on Monday, Jason worked out on an eliptical machine for five minutes. He still needs to get 5 more degrees of movement with his left ankle (pulling up his toes towards his knee). He also needs to concentrate on increasing the strength of his foot when turning the toes inward and outward.

Tuesday we had an appointment with Jason's seizure doctor. It's been a month since he has seen Jason and was so pleased with his progress. Last month he couldn't even touch Jason's foot, now he can move his foot all around, test his foot strength and test it with different touches and stimulation. The skin on his big toe is very dry. This is due to the nerves not completely functioning as they used to. He also doesn't have feeling on the side of this toe. We will have another MRI in the summer to see if the brain bruise is healed.

Please pray that Jason will know God's will for him for this coming fall school semester. For his healing, please continue to pray for the strength and flexibilty to increase in his left ankle, the nerves to completely heal and the bruise in his brain to completely heal.

Bye, Bye Crutches!

Today we stowed away the crutches. Jason's physical therapist told him to concentrate on walking normally; heel, ball, then push off with his toes. She told him to put away the crutches and just walk slowly. Wow! Does he look good!

Yesterday Jason and Debbie went to the hospital and visited with Matt Kelley and his parents. Matt was about to go to surgery to have his last two incisions taken care of. It was so nice to meet them and share stories of what we've been through during the past 10 weeks. They are hoping Matt gets to go home on Friday.

Since Mike had today off to celebrate the end of tax season, he was able to go to therapy with Jason.

Jason now talks about his foot as having discomfort. He no longer describes it as pain!

Thank you so much for praying for Jason and our family. Please continue to pray for the nerves to completely heal, for the pain syndrome to burn itself out, the brain bruise to heal and his strength and agility to return.

Evening Stroll

Sunday night Mike, Debbie and Jason went outside for a walk. Once Jason got down the driveway to the street, Mike took his one crutch. Jason walked past two houses to the north of our house and back to our house. Then to the left around the corner and past a couple of houses and back again. That was about 1200' of walking for the first time without crutches!

Today Jason went to the gym and walked two laps around the track. That's 1/4 of a mile!

He only uses the crutches around the house when he's not wearing shoes for support.

We are so excited to see this progress!

Thank you for praying and please keep on!

Two Doctor Appointments

Yesterday we went to see two of Jason's doctors for follow-up visits.

First we was the doctor who did the sympathetic nerve blocks. He told Jason that he felt the nerve blocks were 50-60% successful. Since it's been two weeks since he's seen Jason, he was pleased to see the progress he's making with less pain, foot movement and being able to touch it.

He told Jason that treating RSDS/CRPS is very difficult, but much more effective if treatment begins early -- which it has for Jason. He wants Jason to do therapy in lukewarm and cool water baths for his foot, exercising while in the water.

Then we went to see his primary care doctor. She had Jason walk a few feet without his crutch. At first he was keeping most of his weight on his right foot, but after she pointed that out to him he walked much more balanced. She too was very pleased at the progress of his movement of the ankle, toes, being able to put pressure on his foot and having relief from some of the pain. She said that when we meet with another doctor in two more weeks that he could increase the nerve pain medication at that time.

She's consulted with another doctor (who examined Jason and identified the RSDS/CRPS last time and commented that this may never go away) who said that RSDS/CRPS could stick around with a young man like Jason for 6-9 months and then burn itself out. I'm sure the time frame didn't please Jason, but the thought that the pain syndrome could go away was music to my ears!

Jason did get plenty of bad news. Mike asked the doctor about next school year. The doctor said we shouldn't even be considering letting him be far from home, she wouldn't even recommend Union University -- just one hour from home. She also said he should plan on not taking an ambitious schedule.

We did get another medication for Jason's sad eyes.

Please continue to pray for the nerves and brain bruise to completely heal, for his ankle to regain strength and flexibility, for Jason's muscles to rebuild and for the pain syndrome to completely go away.

SLEEP!

Jason has begun to get a lot more sleep. We are now making him go upstairs and sleep in his bed. This is better for him because he's not waking up when Mike leaves and again when Steven leaves.

Jason has been working on straightening his leg and putting a sock on his left foot. He can put some pressure on his left foot and at times can get around with just one crutch (when the pain lets up).

After exercising a lot, Jason irritated tendons around the ankle area. He has to give them a rest so that they can heal, but he can still do most of his muscle strengthening exercises.

Please pray that his left ankle regains the strength and flexibility it once had. Also continue to pray for the nerves to completely heal and for Jason to focus more on the answers to prayer, how well he's doing and the progress he's made, rather than the remaining healing and unknown time frames for having everything back to normal.

Diminishing Pain!

Finally the pain is much more tolerable! Jason still has pain, but it's not excruciating 24/7. He was up four times during the night last night, getting one three-hour chunk of sleep and another 2-hour period.

Yesterday at therapy he worked for 1 3/4 hours and now has a whole repertoire of exercises to do. Every muscle on his left side form his waist on down needs to be strengthened for him to be able to walk correctly again.

Jason is also focusing on putting his left leg in a dependent (down) position much more.

This morning Jason made the decision to withdraw from school for this semester. He's just missed way too much to realistically think he could catch up in the next few weeks.

God has been working on our hearts and growing all of us through this time. Thank you prayer warriors. Please continue to pray for complete healing of Jason's nerves and restored ability to fully use his left leg so that he can once again be able to play tennis.

Hope in a Specific Diagnosis and Medication

The neuro-surgeon described Jason's crush injury to the nerves in his legs as causalgia (Greek for burning pain). He told us the specific medication that will allow Jason to tolerate the pain, unfortunately it will take about a week and a half to ramp up to the dosage he needs to take.

This problem is also referred to as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).

We were also given the suggestion by one of his doctors for another sleep aid to give Jason. The first night we saw some benefit and the second night, although interpreted by several pain episodes, he got so much more sleep!

Jason is trying to put a sock on his foot more and to put more pressure on the sole of his foot.

There appears to be nerve injury to the sciatic nerve above his left knee by/in his hamstring.

Jason had planned to go to his high school today to work on chemistry experiments with his high school chemistry, but he was in too much pain. This next week we may make a decision on whether to withdraw from school this semester for medical reasons.

Please pray for wisdom to make school decisions, for the nerve to completely heal and for the pain to quickly diminish.

Another Doctor

Since physical therapy on Tuesday, we've been stimulating Jason's foot with different clothes and objects (never know what you might use a silicone pastry brush!). Then later in the day his foot just throbbed. We were afraid we had over-stimulated it, but the doctor assured us that movement and touching it are very important to do for it's recovery.

The pain is definitely back to a 10 and now we can't find anything to relieve it. We're using Capzasin cream to try and minimize the pain and even tried warm wraps (which before Jason couldn't tolerate at all). We had had success in dunking Jason's foot in a bowl of ice water and give it a good shock. Absolutely nothing is helping. Tuesday night, Wednesday all day and last night were again miserable.

Today we are going to see a neuro-surgeon.

Please pray for healing and especially for Jason's emotional and mental health. Please pray that the doctors will come up with a plan that works to make his pain tolerable.

Second Nerve Block

Monday Jason had another sympathetic nerve block. That day Jason didn't notice much improvement, other than being able to straighten his leg occasionally. He did sleep much better Monday night, getting a four-hour chunk of sleep and a couple two-hour stretches!

Today we went to physical therapy. Jason needs to touch his foot with different objects and different fabrics to de-sensitize his foot. This will help the nerve in sending messages back to the brain and not leaving them out there dangling on the foot and shooting off like fireworks. She also gave him exercises to do to strengthen his ankle, hamstring and quads on his left leg. That way when the nerve pain subsides and he can bear weight on the leg, some of those other muscles can already be somewhat strengthened.

Please pray for the nerve pain to subside quickly and eventually for the nerve to completely heal. Please also pray for Jason's emotional and mental well being.

Sleepless Nights Continue

Jason's overnight pain continues to be awful. Two nights ago we considered taking him to the hospital. Surely they could give him something that would allow him to sleep.

After consulting with the doctor on Friday, we tried giving Jason twice as much Oxycodone at bedtime. She felt this would certainly knock him out. After taking that with three different nerve pain medications, his seizure med and Ambien, he still couldn't fall asleep for over an hour until 6am.

Monday Jason will have another nerve block.

He has been saying some really goofy things. Don't know if it's a result of the lack of sleep or the myriad of medications.

Please continue to pray that the nerve would quickly and completely heal. Also please pray that we would make the right decision about attending school this semester.

Sleep -- Just a Dream!

Jason had a sympathetic nerve block on Wednesday. His pain before was certainly a 10 before, now it's a nine. I know Jason was looking forward to much more relief, but we'll take even that much help.

After the nerve block, we drove directly to the office of one of the neurologists that saw Jason while in LeBonheur. He decided to wean him off two nerve pain medications and start him on another.

In the afternoon Jason put on both shoes and walked around the island in the kitchen, but it wasn't easy. After that, he quit putting weight on the foot and went back to hopping or using crutches.

We were hoping Jason would be able to manage the stairs last night, but instead ended up on the living room couch for another tough night then moved to the hearth room.

We are heading to Jackson this afternoon for physical therapy. The doctor that did the nerve block yesterday felt that was very important to get in this week.

Thank you for faithfully praying!

Heros and Good Intentions

Friday we got to meet many firefighters who helped to save Jason life. One of them was a man who was not on duty that night. He was on his way to Memphis because his girlfriend's house was hit by the tornado. He was driving right into the tornado as he watched cars being picked up ahead of him. He immediately turned around and called him mother and grandmother to pray for his protection. He headed to the firehouse and warned the others of what was coming. He was there that night and he was the one who told us he had talked to Jason 20 minutes before we had arrived and that he was still living.

Another rescuer was a captain who thought with about 10 minutes to go before they got Jason out that he was about to go into shock. He kept hitting Jason's foot and getting him to respond. He thought Jason was quite irritated with him, but he wanted to make sure them kept him alert.

Another man was the captain in charge of that area. He was given the word that another super cell was about to arrive in about 5 minutes. He was responsible for making sure that the rescuers were safe, for how can they rescue someone else if they suffered harm. This man has a 19 year old child and many times that night thought of how it would be if that were his child buried. He couldn't call off the search for Jason with that thought in mind! Praise the Lord! Wow! Crying while I write this!

Last night we loaded up Jason's backpack with every intention to go to class today. Unfortunately last night was again another sleep deprived night. It's amazing to me that he can't sleep with all the medication he's on. He did fall asleep around 8:30am and I had to wake him up at 12:10pm for chemistry class (which he can watch live online).

Jason is having a nerve block this Wednesday. Please pray for the nerve block to be effective and for Jason to be able to get caught up in his classes.

Firehouse Visit

Today we will go to Jackson to meet several of the firefighters who worked so diligently and skillfully to save the lives of the students.

Another medication was added to the collection and the past two nights have been more restful. Since Jason can not go upstairs, Jason and Debbie have been sleeping in the hearth room on the couches. Debbie is sleeping with Jason so that she can assist him in getting ice bags during the night and to comfort him when the pain is so difficult. Sometimes Jason tries to sleep sitting up so that he can have his left foot resting on an ice pack. The ice pack seems to be the best way to curb the pain.

Yesterday we went to a pain management doctor who will do a sympathetic nerve block on Wednesday. With the cycle of pain being so severe, this will hopefully do for the nerve what rebooting a computer does to settle down that system.

Thank you for the many prayers you've already prayed and please continue to pray, especially for this nerve pain to completely go away.

Foot Movement

Jason has more movement in his toes and can move his left foot to the left and to the right. The exciting news is that Jason can, using a muscle on the outer side of his leg just below the knee, pull up his foot a little bit.

However, Monday and Tuesday nights Jason did not sleep due to the pain in his foot.

We went to physical therapy on Tuesday and found out that there is little that can be done there while he is in such pain. We also learned that the best possible position for Jason to be in to minimize the pain is to lie on his stomach with his left knee bent and the foot raised above his body. This position is not conducive to attending classes, neither is the assistance of sleepless nights.

Please pray that Jason's professors will come up with some creative way to allow him to continue his education this semester. It would be good for his mind-set to have something to think about other than his pain and the other negative aspects of this whole ordeal.

Please pray that this nerve pain would be controllable and that this phase would pass quickly.

Home Again

Jason was discharged from LeBonheur on Sunday. Nerve medicine is given incrementally, so Jason could not experience immediate and complete relief. Jason is no longer at the point of crying every moment he is awake, so the doctors feel that he has turned the corner on the excruciating nerve pain. He has slept a considerable amount since Friday night. This nerve pain could last 6-8 weeks.

At this point, Jason can not walk on his left leg or even straighten it. Due to this limited mobility and grogginess, it looks doubtful that Jason can resume his school schedule this week.

Please continue to pray for complete healing of Jason's spinal shift, bulging and swelling, brain bruise, nerves and muscles in his back. Also, please pray for Jason's emotional well-being.