Brian going back under the knife

Today, Brian went to the Dr. with complaints of his spinal implant. An X-Ray was performed and it turns out that the ends of the wires in Brian's upper spine have come loose. Where the 2 inch paddle ends should be in the spine, only about a half an inch is where it should be, and the rest is obviously not. This is going to require that the neurosurgeon open up his spine again to fix the problem. As this just happened today we are not sure when the surgery will be scheduled. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue through this hardship.

Shar Looks Like...

With Steven it was easy, he looked like his dad. Shar on the other hand keeps throwing us off a bit. What do you think?

Brett or Brian?

Under the knife

On May 28th, Brian underwent a back surgery to reduce the chronic pain that he has suffered from since 1992. The surgical procedure required placing a permanent implant in has back called a 'Dorsal Column Stimulator'. Basically, wires run from Brian's mid-back down to his hip where a small battery pack was installed. This system provides electrical stimulation which keeps the nerves in his back and legs occupied and reduces the pain significantly.

For those who are interested in the full medical details, continue to read. If you are squeemish, then you may wish to skip this part: The surgical procedure required the surgeon to remove the back of vertebrae T-8 (this procedure is called a Laminectomy) which allowed the Dr. to place small wires against the spinal cord. He then 'fished' the wires down through the spine, and into the top of the right buttock. Another incision was made to place the battery pack just under the skin/fat layer. The battery pack is about the size of a silver dollar and is about 3/8th's of an inch thick.

Now that the system is installed, it is programmed by a technical rep to target the areas that Brian has pain in. This is done by a computer program and is aligned by Brian telling the tech where the stimulation is. The stimulation can be moved and then hard-programmed into the wireless remote. The remote is about the size of a cell phone from 8 years ago, unfortunately, but considering the alternatives is worth carrying a small brick around.

The battery pack is charged by placing the charging unit up against the skin where the battery pack is installed and allowing 3-4 hours will fully charge the unit. The wireless remote controls the intensity and the program # that was determined by Brian and the Tech. 4 different programs are available and slightly change the target area and the frequency pulse.

The electrical stimulation is just like that of a T.E.N.S. Unit, or if you don't know what that is, it is a mild, constant electrical shock that usually feels like a sort of massage.

Despite the lingering surgical pain, Brian is feeling quite a bit better and his chronic pain has lessened by a good amount. We will know in a few months to what extent this will help Brian's quality of life.

Our Very Own Dinosaur

The other day Steven came running into my room telling me there was a dinosaur outside in the back yard. He kept doing this little scared shaking thing with his body. So I run down stairs and look out the sliding glass window and there is a lizard in my water bucket right outside the door. I brought the lizard in and put it in a glass jar for Steven to look at. (by the way lizards bite, I found out the hard way) Any way he (Steven) was so cute, he kept saying, "oh, baby dinosaur". It's not a great picture, but it's a picture.

Trevor's All Done

Trevor's end of the year pool party for the whole 6th grade class was really fun! (except for having to wear a swimsuit part) It was funny because we had been getting up into the hundreds all week and then the day of the pool party it was like 70 degrees. We all went swimming any way, and it didn't start raining until all the kids where walking back to class.

Trevor is all done with elementary school forever. He finished up 6th grade with really good grades, we are all proud of him. (he's got 4 parents and like million grandparents) He seemed to be especially strong in reading and writing. I'll see if I can get some more of his poems posted soon. Trevor is getting so tall and handsome, I'm gonna have to beat the girls off with a stick. He's also a great help to me and is an awesome big brother!