Hey everyone, sorry it's been so silent around here recently. I feel like I have been running around non-stop ever since I got home and when I finally had the chance to sit down and blog, my computer decided to break on me...yep gotta love that!
I don't even really know where to begin this post, other than trying to recap the last couple of weeks.
My first two weeks at home were filled with visiting family, celebrating Christmas, catching up with friends, lots of cuddling with my sweet puppy, and planning/shopping for my return to Haiti. Those first couple of weeks were honestly a blur and felt like they passed in the blink of an eye.
Once the New Year hit, things slowed down a bit but quickly caught right back up with the fast pace of things here in America. I traveled up to Virginia to celebrate a dear friend's wedding (see below), which was such a blessing for both of us! I have missed hanging out with those girls so much and it really put back into perspective just how perfectly God has crafted every aspect of my life.
I have missed Haiti more than I anticipated, but I have also longed to stay home more than I thought I would too. It seems like home and Haiti are always playing a tug of war game in my life. My heart wants to have both of them all the time, but that unfortunately doesn't quite happen.
I did end up extending my stay at home for a couple of weeks, however it was not done for a reason I would have chosen. You see, a couple of days before I left Haiti, I pulled a muscle in my lower back which made my sciatica flare up for the first time in a while. I've had a bulging disk in my lower back since college but it has remained fairly dormant with only a few painful days here and there. That day however, I had a bad feeling I had just made it way worse. After coming home and not getting any relief from the pain, I started to see a chiropractor and we began throwing around the idea of getting another MRI done. I didn't want to accept that I may have seriously injured the disc, so I kept putting it off. However, when I almost passed out from the pain during the wedding I decided it was time to get things checked out. Mom and I decided it was best to postpone my trip to Haiti so we could figure out if there was indeed something serious going on in my back (it also helped save a ton of money on flights if I had gone back).
Well, after getting the results of my MRI back this week, it was determined that I have a herniated disk and am now being referred to a neurosurgeon... not the news I was hoping to get. My doctor is pretty sure it will require surgery, but that is to be confirmed next week when we meet with the surgeon. Surgery would mean relief from the pain (which would be awesome), but it also would mean that my stay at home will have to be extended further.
I never imagined this would be happening right now, but I know the Lord has a plan. I'm praying he will show me which route to take to find healing as well as get back to Haiti. Please continue to keep me in your prayers. I feel like that flag in the middle of a tug of war game being pulled two different directions both physically and emotionally. Trying to process of all this, let alone explain it to my supporters has been very difficult for me. I will return to Haiti, and I
will finish out my year there, but I've had to put things on hold for a little bit. This saddens me deeply, but I'm learning more and more each day that my health must take priority right now.
Please continue to keep me in your prayers as I try to figure all of this out.
More posts (some a little behind schedule) will come as soon as my computer gets out of the shop!