The First Nerve Block

I just got home from my nerve block procedure.  It was very successful in terms of what they expect from the first one.  

The temperature of my foot actually regained five degrees!  That is the biggest improvement that they are looking for after this initial block.  For the first time in two months, I am able to really feel my toes, and it is glorious.  The warmth in my leg is very comforting.  My leg is weak and my back is a bit sore from the needle, but I'm doing wonderfully.  

The procedure wasn't bad at all.  My IV was a little challenging.  My usually great veins were pretty flat from dehydration (I had to fast before the procedure because one of the potential risks is seizure, and they want to take all of the necessary precautions).  They had to insert the IV and then reinsert it into different veins three times, because each vein was accessible, but wouldn't let go of my blood (I was hungry! My body wasn't going to let go of anything without a fight), and the third one hit a nerve.  Apparently, the nerves in my arms were  a little bit eager, thinking that maybe today was about them. 

After that, they numbed the area on my back, injected dye, and took several x-Rays to identify the problem nerves.  They inserted a needle to my spine, directly into the nerves, and "bathed" the nerves with anesthetic.  The goal of the nerve block is to reset my nervous system--to shut down the nerves until they can, hopefully, re-learn the correct signals to send to my body. 

The doctors and nurses were wonderful.  They printed out x-Ray pictures of the process for me!  This picture shows the needle in my spine:

The pain is still the same right now, but they don't expect that to really change until, at the earliest, the second procedure.  I repeat the procedure next week, and again the following week.  

After that, we will have an idea of the kind of relief I will get from the nerve blocks.  They said that, this early in the game, there is no way of knowing how long the effects of the blocks will last.  They told me that some people need the procedure weekly for the rest of their lives, and some people don't need it nearly as often.  So, we're just praying for the latter!

Thank you all so much for your prayers through the process.  God is so good.

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus," (Philippians 1:3-6 NIV).