Many of you know that Trev's been having a lot of pain... His hands, his neck, his lower back, his knee. He went for an MRI last week that was ordered by the pain specialist and he got the results today. Trevor has 5 herniated discs in his cervical spine and a benign tumor in his lower back involving 2 nerves. We don't know anything about this tumor right now, other than that it doesn't look like cancer would look... a blessing. Trevor has another MRI scheduled in 6 months to see if and how much this tumor is growing, but until then there's nothing to be done. While Trev is already on some pretty heavy duty pain meds, the doctor put him on a new pill designed to numb the nerves and take away some more of the pain. It's scary, really. You see on t.v. all these people who have become dependant and addicted to prescribed pain medication and now, instead of weaning himself off the meds, they're pumping more into his body. The herniated discs in his neck aren't bad enough to require surgery at this point and even if he did (and he may in the future) need the surgery, it would be a huge gamble. He may not walk after the operation!
Our concern now is work. My brain tells me that this problem was likely caused by his job and his work is certainly not helping him to get better. My knee-jerk reaction was to tell Trevor to go on long term disability. A thought came to me (and it was reaffirmed by two family members) that Trev should stay home with the kids while I finished my nursing degree. Long-term disability would only cover 50% of his wage, so I'd also have to find an evening job, but I figured that I could apply for grants, scholarships and loans to pay for the schooling. When I finished in four years, I could be bringing in more money than Trevor does now.
When I brought it up to Trevor tonight, he nixed the idea immediately. As frustrated as I am that I can't help our family, I have to defer to the leader of my household. Please pray for us... might be a little rough in the future.
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