hitch in my git'along

Guess who is back? Yep you guessed it...old mr. back problems.

Most of you are fully aware that I had back surgery two and a half months ago now and have been doing reasonably well since then. Unfortunately over this last weekend something happened and I am not in the best condition now. Something inside has moved or slipped or bulged or something and it has been causing me a decent amount of pain. I currently cannot stand up straight and have a lot of trouble walking. Sleeping through the night is also not happening. I was hoping that it would just go away but it has been getting worse and not better so after 2 days of this i went to the doctor yesterday. he checked me out and could definitely tell my back was spasming for some reason and decided to give me several prescriptions (i lovingly refer to them as my drug cocktail) with hopes that they will calm my back down and hopefully alleviate the problem. If this doesn't work then it gets a little hairier...cat scan's or mri's checking for structural damage or other disc problems and maybe even another surgery. but we can cross that bridge if we get there..and we are not there yet.

if you are wondering how what happened to bring this on...so am i. i was just sitting at my desk on thursday and could feel something happening in my back but couldn't do anything about it. It really hurt that evening but by sunday morning it had become much better so i thought i was out of the woods. but as i sat on the couch sunday night it came back with a vengeance and has just gotten progressively worse since then. i've been much more active in the prior weeks but for two weeks now i have done nothing active in nature which makes this a bit confusing. no real explanation for it. all i know is that this is the worst my back has ever been...even before the surgery.

i just wanted to keep you updated and i will continue to do so as this plays out. i also know i could ask for your prayers but i'm sure that at this point i barely need to ask. you all do it automatically it seems! i really do appreciate all your prayers and am confident that this will turn out ok. God has done so much to get me here and has conquered my back problems in big ways on more than one occasion....this will be no different. so let's fight this together.

on a side note...there is a bit of me that wonders if this is a less of a physical thing and more spiritual in nature. I was supposed to be a part of a team this week that was traveling out and taking part in a ministry opportunity. because of my back though i am not able to attend. I am usually one who tends to play off everything as "just the way things happen" but i really am learning that there is an enemy out there who does not want to see the will of God be done. there is a real battle going on. so the fact that there is absolutely no reason for my back to be hurt and it just happens to be right before a great ministry opportunity...coincidence maybe. but maybe not.

although this whole situation is not the greatest news, I remain in good spirits and am not frustrated at all. it takes more than this to bring me down. and if this is an attack... that would mean that i am suffering for the sake of Christ. i don't feel worthy to be in that position. i would consider that an honor.

I'll keep you all posted on the latest. Thanks for caring!

Aaron

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both the soul and the body".... Matthew 10:28