In case you missed the blog posts that gave updates on how Allen was progressing after his back surgery in April, there’s a fairly good reason for that. It seems that we kinda sorta inadvertently neglected to write them. Oops! We thought we had. We meant to. Posts went out by email and were posted on Facebook. But, well, it seems that those “updates” that were just private conversations between Trish and I that were never written up and posted on the blog. Today we’re changing that.
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| Heading home!!! |
Allen did really well with his post surgical recovery. He was up and walking the following day. The actual healing of all of the work done on his lower spine is a much longer process. That’s what was going on during the months of May and June.
The best thing to come from all of this is that Allen is in a lot less pain than he was before he had the surgery. He is learning how to move and sleep differently and that has caused his neck pain to move down the pain scale from “YOWZA, THAT HURTS!!!” to “Ouch, that is uncomfortable.” Or for people who use a more traditional pain scale, it has gone from intense to mild. The improvement was so dramatic that the decision was made to not go forward with the second surgery for repairs to his neck. On top of that, the surgery has helped resolve the issue of some of the nerves in his legs getting crushed.
Even though the surgery was a success, Allen is facing the sorts of limitations that were to be expected. He doesn’t have the mobility that he used to have and he has to walk differently. The curve in his lower back doesn’t curve as much as it did prior to surgery and that causes him to kind of lean forward. When he focuses on standing straight, he is bending his knees and there is added pressure on his hips. His doctor has pointed out that the other parts of his body are going to be taking on additional stress and this could create other problems in the future. There’s a chance that a cane or walking stick may be in his future.
Allen still deals with occasional flashes of intense pain. These are generally related to shifting movements, like getting into position in bed, or shifting in his chair while sitting in church, and they are sudden, surprising, and shout-out-loud painful! We'd appreciate your prayers about this, as we are hoping this is just a normal part of the healing process that will ease with time and additional healing, and not a problem that will grow and have to be addressed.
Allen is learning how to deal with his new normal. The bone spurs and arthritis that were the underlying issues behind his back pain were “cleaned up” in surgery. Of course, those things weren’t cured by the surgery. Few people come out of a back surgery feeling like everything has been healed. Allen is not one of those few people.
Both Allen and Trish want to make it abundantly clear that they do view this as a success story. Trish said, “We did what we came to do. We are praising God that we were able to get through the crazy process with the healthcare system. We are thankful that we can move forward without Allen being in pain all the time.”
They are now packing to go home to Honduras in what they are thinking of as a test run. Trish asked and answered the question that is on many minds, “Can we live in Honduras? We’re going to go back and see how it goes. We’ll see if God has that in store for us or something else.”
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| Charlotte smiles just thinking about meeting Nana and Grandpa! |
Allen and Trish will be flying to Maryland this week. On July 14th, they will visit a supporting church there. Then on the following Sunday, they will visit a church in Ohio. Their flight to Honduras is on July 23rd. They are ready to go home and see some of their grandkids, including one they haven’t even officially met yet.
While this has not been an easy process, there have been some good things to come from it. Having Allen and Trish in the States for so long was a good opportunity for others at Sowers4Pastors to successfully run everything. Trish shared, “In general, it’s a hard thing to hand off something you’ve built and watch others run it. We are going back as supporting players, as part of a team that has functioned well in our absence. That has been a goal for quite a few years.”
Allen and Trish want to thank everyone who has been praying for them and the ministry. Thank you to those who contributed to their unexpected expenses. They appreciate your ongoing prayers that they will be able to go back and work with the ministry on the ground. Please also continue to pray that Allen’s pain level and mobility will continue to improve. While they didn’t specifically mention this, pray for Trish as she packs up everything to move back to Honduras about eight months earlier than previously expected!
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