Rick had his appointment with the neurosurgeon this morning.

I am glad it took so long for them to schedule the appointment because Rick ended up doing a lot of reading online. He found a lot of interesting sites and connected some of his bad habits to his back problems. Yes, the wrench breaking at work caused this herniation, as did the overstraining of it by working 7 days a week instead of resting, but his habits have made his back weak and suseptible and also made it so the disc is having a hard time recovering.

So, what did the doc say? He did a quick examination and told Rick what WE ALREADY KNEW... L5 pressing into S1 blah, blah, nerve causing pain going down the leg, blah, blah.... And of course he wanted to do surgery. Made it sound so easy. Just a small incision **the doc forgot to mention that this operation is by the spine and one wrong slip could cause a LOT of problems and pain. He also failed to mention that he would have a big chance of coming back in for the same surgery to the disc above this one in the next few years if he took this surgery** Rick of course said "I'm only 28. I would like to avoid surgery by trying other means first." Of course the doctor said ok (like he had a choice) and scheduled an appointment for next month.

And I can't forget how when Rick told him he had been doing reading and that he thought his bad habit was affecting his disc the doctor basically blew him off. And when the doctor asked about his medication and Rick told him that part of the drugs they had him on (he does not take them now. Just herbs and other holistic therapy.) did not seem to do anything and that the pain and muscle relaxers made it worse because they covered up the pain so much that when he was working he did not know he was making it worse. (I was against the drugs from the beginning and as a side note had NOTHING to do with that. The thought of him being on them makes me sick.) Of course the doctor blew that off to and then asked about an anti inflammatory. Rick said my wife is taking care of me for that and I said I was giving him herbs and the doctor acted as though he didn't even hear that and wrote a prescription for an anti inflammatory anyhow and told him to take it. Of course Rick won't be filling that prescription. 

Something else that bothers me about the whole thing is Rick told them that since he has been off work (since around Christmas) that he has gotten much better. This means that he is healing but the doctor still automatically wanted to do surgery. Whatever.

So, a $25 copay later, we left with less money and nothing to show for it. What a rip off. I guess they need to save the hack n slash for people that don't do their homework. They could at least show some encouragment towards him for making healthy changes, doing research and caring. But then again, that wouldn't help the doctors pocketbooks would it? In my opinion this is an outdated surgery technique and these men should be shut down for praying on innocent, trusting civilians... hack n slashers. 

So, you who doubt, just wait. Rick is getting better at a remarkable rate. He is doing really well and making positive changes. In a month from now he will be saying "I told you so!! I am better!!"

     I can honestly say that I am glad that 2008 is over! Thank God. It was one of the worst years I can remember... (except for the birth of Gabriel and a few other things). The year was just - blah!

     At the end of the year Rick's back finally gave out on him. I won't go into details but let's just say he could not even walk. We got him into a chiropractors office but he could literally not stand and laid on the floor till the doctor got him on a table. I think Rick has really begun to take things seriously and has been doing really good lately- I guess when a guy can't work that will happen. Carrot juice, whole food supplements, H2O2, herbs, acupuncture, decompression table. A week later he was able to walk up the stairs and is walking around for SHORT periods of time. It could actually be a good thing. Here are a few reasons why-

1. Obviously I am a health nut so seeing him want to take care of himself is great.

2. He has been working so much for the past year. SO MUCH! Maybe God can use this to slow him down. I think he has been working TO hard. *****Intermission- I just watched my husband lick my phone to wipe the sticky stuff off- gross****** He has a lot to work for and bills to pay but sometimes I think he is just doing to much. So, it has been VERY nice having him home. Believe it or not I like having him around.

3. We are going on vacation to Mexico (I wish I could tell you all the cool things that God has done to work this trip out for us.) and now Rick is going to be able to come for a longer period of time. He is off work cause his back... but he can lay around down there and I bet the sun will help him get better. And wouldn't you know it, it just so happens, that a chiropractor that does acupuncture is going to be in the village where we will be spending lots of time. NOT a coincidence. God planned that one out. I get to meet another blogger down there which is kind of neat.(I'll tell you who after I get permission to link to them) I know a few bloggers that are local but have never really got to meet somebody in life that is a blogger like this. So that is kind of cool. I hate to leave this nice, cold, cloudy, overcast, depressing, gray and white and brown dead tree enviroment full of dead sticks and leaves... death and coldness... did I mention coldness?? Climate?? But I have to go to Mexico. To play in the surf and sun and eat tacos. Lots of yummy tacos. 72 degree wintertime climate there. So, sorry, it is my duty to go there. Goodbye PA. Goodbye.

Ok, here is the only bad thing about my husband being home... he is now attempting to hog my computer again. Got to go. BYE BYE

Well, here is my update...

     I got my laptop back from the computer guy. WOW, we should of just bought a new one because we ended up spending over $200 by time we bought new parts and all that.

     I lost ALL my pictures. ALL of them. ALL of them. (Well except Ben's third birthday and my last birthday). Needless to say I was crushed. I just keep telling myself I can't take them with me anyhow. Someday it is all going to burn when God makes a new heaven and a new earth anyhow. Right? Right...

     In the midst of waiting for my computer to be fixed my phone had broken for a few days so if you tried to contact me I didn't get the message and you should just resend it if it was important.

     The good news is that I finally got my emails sorted through. You don't realize how much useless stuff you get and how much time your computer takes up until you don't have it for a week. I think I am going to start unsubscribing to some things.

• He is referred to as the Messiah and doesn't refute it. In fact, according to his campaign manager this was done on purpose. Some quotes from Obama's mouth are "a nation healed, a world repaired." "We are the ones we have been waiting for," "A light will shine down from somewhere. It will light upon you. You will experience an epiphany, and you will say to yourself: I have to vote for Barack." "This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and the planet began to heal." There is even a blog dedicated to saying he is the Messiah. http://obamamessiah.blogspot.com/ What really bothers me about this is he never says "I am not the Messiah" so does he really believe it? If you are a Christian this should make you think because we all know the Messiah has already come, Christ, and for him to give the impression he is is blasphemy. If you believe we are in the end times then you may think this is expected but why would you vote for it?
• He supports gay marriage. He said "I will also oppose any proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban gays and lesbians from marrying." In some states, such as California (youtube link on Prop 8) this could be a serious issues and YOUR children could be forced to hear gay issues in grades as early as kindergarten.
  
• Obama is in support of homosexual education- Do you really want this to be taught to your children and have NO choice about it? When talking about a book that was read to young elementary students where two men were married and the parents were not notified and had no choice Obama said this- "you know, the fact is, my 9-year-old and my 6-year-old's -- I think, are already aware that there are same-sex couples. And my wife and I have talked about it. And one of the things I want to communicate to my children is not to be afraid of people who are different, and because there have been times in our history where I was considered different, or Bill Richardson was considered different. And one of the things I think the next president has to do is to stop fanning people's fears. You know, if we spend all our time feeding the American people fear and conflict and division, then they become fearful and conflicted and divided. And if we feed them hope, and we feed them reason and tolerance, then they will become tolerant and reasonable and hopeful. And that, I think, is one of the most important things that the next president can do, is try to bring us together and stop trying to fan the flames of division that have become so -- so standard in our politics in Washington. That's the kind of experience, by the way, that we need to put an end to." That sounds great if you don't mind having no choice about your child's education. What about OUR religious convictions? Shouldn't the school just stick to reading, writing and arithmetic????
• Homosexuals will have more rights than you- Maybe I should of lumped these three homosexual subjects into one. The fact of the matter is if you are in the military you will have to be bunked up with openly homosexual people. I would be just as uncomfortable undressing in front of a lesbian as I would a man because they can both "check you out". Also, if you have religious beliefs against homosexuality you will have to hire and pay for one that wants to work for you. Where are your rights to run your own life and run your own business? For adoption companies they will be forced to adopt to gay and lebian couples. Many of us already know that the catholic organization has had to remove itself out of one state because its religious beliefs were contrary to this. For a full list of where he stands of homosexual issues click here. Let me take a moment here to explain something- one of the nicest and hardest working persons I ever worked with was actually gay. While I think his lifestyle was 100% wrong I still treated him kindly and we were able to actually have good conversations about God. I think looking at porn is just as vile as homosexuality and committing adultery is also very, very bad. God said if you simply look at a woman and lust you are committing adultery. Think about that next time you sit and watch a rated R or PG-13 movie with some woman's ***** hanging out or a sex scene. You are perverted too if you do this. My point is I am not a "homophob" and would like to see homosexuals saved too... I am for our religious rights which are stripped away when they grant homosexuals all the "rights" people like Obama want to give them. Well, you know what.. if an employer doesn't want to hire a lesbian it is his/her right and the lesbian has the right to look elsewhere for employment AND even to boycott that business or company if it is that big of a deal to them.
• He supports cloning- His Senate voting record proves this.
• He fully supports abortion- This includes abortion, partial birth abortion, transporting of youth for secret abortions without parental consent.
• Infancide- This is legalized killing of infant born alive.
• Obama is against gun rights- You will not be allowed hand guns and hunters will get slim pickins'. He said "that the Constitution confers an individual right to bear arms. But just because you have an individual right does not mean that the state or local government can't constrain the exercise of that right."
• His church- I actually agree with part of what the pastor says that most Americans don't agree with. However, part of what Mr. Wright says is pretty far out in left field if you know what I mean. It is an interesting youtube search to say the least.
• ACORN- Obama's campaign has GIVEN over $800,000 to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN. Its goal is to promote the welfare state, finance illegal-immigrant activities, undermine capitalism, and elect politicians such as Obama, using government grants to do so. The money was supposed to be for providing "stage, lighting and sound" to the campaign. But its subsidiary, Citizen Services Inc., has been doing get-out-the-vote work for Obama and the group has been implicated in multiple voter-fraud schemes in at least 14 states, for which several of its members have been criminally convicted.
• Citizenship- This youtube video explains it perfectly. Even though this man's case was thrown out of court the questions were NEVER answered about it.
• Immunizations-  I guess we are not good enough to decide what is medically best for our children either. He is really funded by the pharmaceutical companies! Check out the links on the blog I linked for more information. "I do not support selective vaccination." is what he said.
• Big Government- He seems to think government should control everything. Where are my rights????