Marty Update

What a whirlwind year-and-a-half we've had! Yesterday was yet another trip to Philadelphia to see Marty's newest doctor added to the mix, a spine specialist. He is with the same group that his main ortho belongs to, so we're very confident in his findings. Marty has a disc in his back that has herniated as a result of the fall. Rather than being simply uncomfortable, because it is in his thoracic back (upper) it is causing more pain than a disc herniated elsewhere would cause.

He is often miserable in pain or simply sleeping to avoid it, which makes our family life rather difficult. Nearly every task falls to me, and although Marty does his best to help, it's often at the cost of great pain.

After a round of therapy for his back that didn't change the pain level at all, the doctor has decided to have Marty try steroids. There are several reasons that this is good, and several reasons it's bad - one being that steroids can cause the hip joints to deteriorate or become necrotic. With Marty's hip still broken (it will be that way for the rest of his life, we suppose) that risk is upped a bit, but the doctor feels the benefit of the steroids outweighs the risk.

The doctor we saw yesterday mentioned the Marty had "permanent nerve damage" in his leg and foot. This is the left leg and foot where he has neuropathy pain - badly enough that he is taking the maximum neurontin dose daily for it. Marty's main doctor has always tried to be positive about this, saying that there is a chance for regeneration there and trying to make Marty feel better about it. We pretty much knew after a year and a half of no change that it was permanent, but hearing it said in such an offhand way was difficult. I don't know how the main doctor would feel about this being told to us, but it may be better off just knowing rather than clinging to false hope.

Marty's hand is as far as it will ever get. The fact that he even has it and has some use is better than the alternative. He has no grip strength in the last two fingers - which is where all of a person's grip strength comes from - so he can't hold on to simple things like grocery bags for more than several seconds.

The memory problems continue despite a neuropsychologist telling us that there was not much of a problem beyond very short-term loss. What I am seeing at home is far different and we'd like a second opinion. Very major life-changing events are being forgotten along with other insignificant things - it's disturbing regardless of the magnitude of the subject that's being forgotten.

So, we are on to the steroids - Marty is done with outpatient therapy for the moment and the depression really needs to be dealt with, as well. He sees guys from work occasionally and gets very sad that he is not out working with them. We will pass buildings he has helped to put up and he mentions wanting to go back.

I'm trying to keep us above water with all that needs to be done, but even at this moment we don't have a Christmas tree up and not one thing for the kids has been shopped for. I'm trying not to get depressed myself! We're hanging in, as we will continue to do - it can only get better, right?