Wood's Amputation Update

Wood's Amputation Update This page was created to keep updates on our fundraiser as well as give updates on Wood's amputation process. We are so grateful for the support!

Wood had another appointment today to talk about his x-rays. They revealed growing arthritis as well as new arthritis in...
06/12/2024

Wood had another appointment today to talk about his x-rays. They revealed growing arthritis as well as new arthritis induced bone spurs in his foot and ankle, which explains a lot of the pain. She still isn't sure what's going on with his neck, but can tell that his muscles are super tight and inflamed. It's possible that this is a location where he is naturally carrying/compensating for the added pain in his foot and ankle. He is getting set up for the rest of the year with meds and a referral until we can change our insurance with the goal to return back to this doctor. So far, the two meds intended to help have done nothing to curb the pain, so we are going to be trying several other recommended options. Please pray for us to find a good combination and for financial ability for these things. Thank you!!

This is my pain level with CRPS. Some days it gets this bad. The worse is when my limb feels like its on fire. Someone d...
06/06/2024

This is my pain level with CRPS. Some days it gets this bad. The worse is when my limb feels like its on fire. Someone dip it in gasoline and lit on fire. But there is nothing that can put out the fire.

06/05/2024

Wood had a doctor's appointment today. He moved it earlier because he has been struggling with more odd feelings and pain in his right foot and throughout his body.

In just 6 months, his foot has deteriorated significantly and his doctor told him that the bones and muscles seem to be fusing themselves together. In addition to that, she believes based on symptoms, that the CRPS may be spreading into that foot as well, which is terrifying to us both. Also, something is going on with the nerves in his neck. She ordered new sets of x-rays and has also prescribed some new medication for him to try and calm down the pain and settle the nerves. She also said that amputation needs to be something on our radar, which she's never really put it forward that way. She's always been one to try and find alternatives.

Additionally, we were just informed that something is going on with insurance companies where small hospitals and doctors are having to drop some carriers, including ours. So, we are losing this doctor who has worked with us for 8+ years and knows Wood's history and has been so helpful. Hopefully it'll just be temporary until we can switch our insurance in November. In the meantime, we hope to get trusted referrals.

Please pray for us with all of this. We have a LOT to figure out and stuff to wrap our minds around.

Wood flew today! That might not seem like a big deal to some, but it's the first time he's flown since his amputation an...
09/14/2023

Wood flew today! That might not seem like a big deal to some, but it's the first time he's flown since his amputation and CRPS diagnosis. His car travel has had to be limited due to his back issues and we've been putting off trying flying since he's been in remission from CRPS. Certain things can cause CRPS to flare and spread...back into horrendous pain that I would be happy to never see again...and difficult to put back into remission. Pressure changes and exposure to really cold temps are two common things we have to watch out for. We did some research and asked others who struggle with this painful disease and concluded that it's a case-by-case situation. So, to say I was nervous today was an understatement! I had just been accepting that we would always need to stay close to home as much as possible. Both of us enjoy traveling though, so that has been a disappointment for us both, however I would 500% give it up in place of the alternative.

BUT, today, he had the opportunity to take a shorter flight to a 9Marks Weekender trip in D.C. He called me immediately after and reported that outside of a little tingling and achiness from pressure, which is not out of the ordinary, he feels okay! 😭 I'm so thankful! We might actually have a means to travel that doesn't hurt him!

I'm also grateful for the friend we have in Daniel who has promised to look out for Wood, since I can't be there. It means a lot to me. I hope they have the best time this weekend ❤️

Just wanted to celebrate this! I'm sure you would want to hear something good for a change too 😊 With all the things that Wood has had to give up due to disabilities, it's so nice for there to be something that does work out. ❤️ -Ashley

Wood had another appointment today to go through all the details of the findings of the MRI. I put the photos below if y...
06/21/2023

Wood had another appointment today to go through all the details of the findings of the MRI. I put the photos below if you want to read the medical lingo details.

Pretty much what we've been already sharing: protruding discs, arthritis, stenosis, fissures, nerve pinching with side effects, etc.

There's nothing that can be done to fix any of this and it will get worse as he ages. They are encouraging chiropractic care as well as massage therapy and going to the pool. We hope to get him into a schedule for decompression soon. Hopefully all these things will prevent rapid worsening of symptoms.

They mentioned back surgery, but said they will NOT recommend it. It would most likely just add more pain and struggle for him to overcome and would not fix anything long term.

His foot is also struggling. His prosthetist is leaving for now to be able to spend time with her kids (which is totally understandable!!) and we will miss her so much as she's been caring for Wood since he was getting braces before the amputation of his left foot. So, he had a new doctor to meet today and she said she could already tell that his right foot had problems from the way he walks, but her eyes bugged out when he removed his shoe and sock to show her everything. Wood is ready to just talk to someone about removing it as well, we are trying to figure out the wisest situation all around.

There's been so much going on, especially with the back pain that we haven't even been able to really get back to seeking info for his foot, but it's been noticeably worsening, so we need to get back into that too.

Regardless, he continues to push forward and we are hoping that the accumulation of therapies will help long term!

Wood had an MRI yesterday for his back and just got the phone call this morning giving the details that were found. -He ...
06/06/2023

Wood had an MRI yesterday for his back and just got the phone call this morning giving the details that were found.

-He has a protruding disc in his lower back
-He has a narrowing of the spinal canal (Spinal Stenosis)
-He has nerves being pinched

His doctor wants to get him to a pain specialist and have him get an epidural. Knowing that this just blocks the pain, but doesn't fix the issue, we are looking at taking this info and moving towards chiropractic route (like decompression treatments) first to see if that can have more permanent helpful results. However, with having the diagnosis, we know that treatment option will still be there if it becomes necessary for him.

05/17/2023

Update:

We appreciate everybody who has asked about how things are going and wanting updates.

Wood had a doctor's appointment today to have his main doctor and prosthetist go over his xrays. He was greeted with a "Hello, mess!" as the doctor came through the door lol. She said pretty much the same things as the chiropractor, but also wasn't happy with the quality of the x-rays, so she is going to try and order and MRI soon. They offered some stretching ideas (which we have been asking for) and during the "practice" of these, Wood's body couldn't handle them, which they were afraid of. He was immediately getting spasms and so she wrote a script for muscle relaxers too to see if that can help some.

We have also started going to an indoor pool so he can hopefully get some water aerobics in which will take the pressure off as he's trying to get better movement, release muscle tension and ease some arthritic pain. He's also going to the chiropractor every other week and has begun massage therapy as well. His massage therapist told him that his back muscles were so tight that she would compare them to someone who would be doing heavy weight training.

Literally everyone says that he is in rough shape just due to years of wear and tear from a bad foundation (feet). The goal is to try and alleviate the pressure of the space between his vertebrae, rehydrate and nourish it so that maybe we can alleviate some of the pain and slow the pace of degeneration.

He will for sure have ups and downs, but we are hopeful that good help and therapies will allow him to function and continue to serve the Church well and continue enjoying the things he loves to do. As we have said to some others, God has given him much compassion for others who struggle with pain and suffering through this. I know God will continue to use this as a means to love and care for people in a world that is increasing in suffering and pain.

Wood's doctor called him today to tell him that his x-rays are not showing scoliosis, but are showing degenerative arthr...
04/26/2023

Wood's doctor called him today to tell him that his x-rays are not showing scoliosis, but are showing degenerative arthritis in his hips and lower back from "wear and tear" of years with structural issues. Wondering if maybe the uneven posture and weird gait that they were noticing is due to overcompensation from pain.

Wood keeps saying that he's a 32 year old in an 80 year old body. 😅

He is going to take his x-rays to his chiropractor to see any ideas she has to help and we are going to look into items and activities to hopefully help with pain and slow the worsening of the condition.

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Gallatin, MO

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