not for the faint at heart

not only is this entry a long one, but it's also picture-free. which, if you're like me, tends to be a second-rate blog posting.

i've been holding off on "the big one" for quite some time just because we haven't really known what's going on. we've searched and wondered and prayed a lot, and even though there are still patches of fog, we are seeing more clearly each day. we just praise God for what he's doing and working in us!

let me start off by saying that lots has happened. second to the whole "when should we move and how can we get jobs" question in our heads has been the question of what the next step was with jed's back. he has been needing another surgery for a few months, but not needing like "unable to get out of bed" needing. we've been wrestling and praying about what to do. we don't feel that the best answer was another "open back" surgery like he had 3 years ago just because of all the scar tissue it left behind that has tended to be a nuisance to his back arthritis. not knowing what other options there were and having already tried chiropractic, we were at a bit of a loss.

providentially, jed's dad sent us a link of a place that we had heard about before but never looked into. it's called the laser spine institue and their website lists possible treatments available for jed's condition - spinal stenosis. there are only two lsi's in the states - one in tampa bay and one in phoenix. in mid-december we sent his most recent mri down to the one in tampa bay and waited for them to review it and call us back. they called back and told us what proceedures they would be doing and how much it could help. they do about 300 surgeries a month and have 8 reputable doctors on board at lsi, so we felt very comfortable with the idea of getting help from them. however, when we asked about insurance/cost, they told us that they don't deal with insurance and so it would be an out-of-network proceedure costing us around $30,000 (it's a $60,000-$80,000 proceedure). obviously, that settled it for us because there's no way we had $30,000 cash on hand. we took it as a sign from the Lord and just continued to wait and see and pray.

well, they called us on tuesday morning of this week and said that since they have a very slow schedule right now, (maybe because of people's deductible's renewing plus the recession, etc.) they wanted to at least get surgeries scheduled even if it meant pretty much giving them away. they offered the surgery to us for $5,000 cash due the day of the surgery which is an UNBELIEVABLE discount!!! after praying about it and taking time to think and get advice, we jumped on it! jed is tentatively scheduled to have surgery on january 29th in tampa bay. this is a tentative date right now only because the dr's at lsi would like updated records on his heart condition and a release from his cardiologist for the surgery. we've been told that his condition is an electrical problem and really nothing harmful according to research, so we're praying that it will be a quick checkup and the release form will be signed.


some amazing facts about this surgery: a quicker recovery time because of the laser method (he would be allowed to drive home if he wanted); very uninvasive (they only move muscles with a probe and don't cut anything); it's just a band-aid incision; he will walk out of the hospital after the surgery and he's told to take a very long walk the night of surgery; the doctors feel that they will be able to help some of his problems; it probably won't affect our moving schedule. we're so thankful that God has provided for this opportunity. though it's still a huge chunk of change, we've already been seeing ways that God provides and we gladly use our money for something this important! jed and i both will have to be in tampa for 5 days - 2 days of pre-op, day of surgery, physical therapy day, and check out day - which means being down there from the 26th-31st of january.

we have tried many different options with jed's back and though we never want to chase the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, we are confident that this is another step that God has for us. it's perfect timing!

now, as far as the nyc schedule goes: we'll be coming back to greenville after the surgery, but we plan on flying up to brooklyn sometime the week of february 9th. we're so excited! another huge answer to prayer is that God has worked it out so that my bosses are letting me take that entire week off and still come back to work for the first week in february to make just a tad bit more money while jed recovers. what an unexpected blessing! we're planning on leaving all of our things completely packed in our greenville apartment while we're in brooklyn looking for jobs and an apartment. dailey and michelle crafton and the people at williamsburg church have lovingly told us that we are more than welcome to stay with them as long as we need to, though our goal is to have jobs and an apartment by march 1st. we'll fly back down for a quick trip at the end of february to then pack the truck and drive it back up.

ta da! these are our plans, but God may have changes along the way (which has happened before) so we're taking it one day at a time and learning to trust and love him more. he's been so awesome to take care of us in these ways! we realize the importance of planning, but also the necessity of remaining extremely flexible.

if you've made it this far, not only would i like to congratulate you but i also hope you're rejoicing with us!