Long Weekend

It's a long weekend here in NZ - Queen's Birthday. But it hasn't been much of a "holiday" in our house, unfortunately.

Colin's suffered from on and off lower back pain since he was 17. He's had maybe 4 or 5 episodes while I've known him that leave him barely able to move, but he can still function okay. Not this time.

Saturday morning, he took the boys grocery shopping, as they do every Saturday. He was feeling sore when they got home, but thought a walk would be good, as walking is usually good for a sore back. We walked to our local community market and home again (quite a long walk), and then he lay down. And couldn't get back up. He somehow managed to get his work clothes on (he was supposed to work at the restaurant Saturday night), got out to the car, couldn't move to reach the gear shift, came inside, and that was it. He has spent the last 48 hours flat out. He gets up to walk around every now and then, but it's excruciating. Even the getting up takes about a minute. That's LONG time to get from lying to standing. :(

No amount of ice or pain relief was touching it, so today, we went to the hospital, the only place that is open on a holiday. The doctor there was REALLY nice, so kind, so compassionate. He said if the ice wasn't working, try heat. He prescribed some stronger medication. He ordered some blood work and x-rays, though he seemed sure nothing would be found on those. We'll get those done when regular office hours are on again. And he said most of the time, in this situation, the best thing to do is find a chiropractor/osteopath/physiotherapist that will help keep the problem at bay. So, there's the final push for us to finally find a chiropractor here.

I feel just awful for him. I am helping him dress, stand up, etc, but nothing I do really eases the pain. We have to wait it out. In the past, resting and sleeping has made things feel better. But this time he's really got it bad. The pain is also shooting down his legs, making it that much worse.

Please think of him and pray for him. We really need this pain to leave his body.