Surgery: To be or not to be?

One down...

I met with a hand surgeon yesterday and he gave me a summary of what is really going on with my right arm and my left hand.

Left Hand: My thumb doesn't bend completely and the MRI results said that I had ruptured the tendon to my thumb. However, the doctor explained that if it was ruptured, then I wouldn't be able to move it at all. I can move it a little, so that is good. NO SURGERY on my left arm! There is a lot of Occupational Therapy that I need to do, but I am fine with that.

Right Arm: My little finger and half of my ring finger are "numb" and the strength in my entire right hand is very weak. The MRI results said that I had damage to my Ulna Nerve in my elbow. I also had a EMG test done on my arm to see if the electrical response to my nerve is still working and it's strength. After reading the report from the EMG, I was a little disappointed. The prognosis was fair. I have a little response to my fingers when they did the test at my wrist. When the doctor tried the same test at my forearm and elbow there was no response. They also tested the sensory nerves and there was no response. After talking with hand surgeon, he said NO SURGERY on my right arm. The nerve is severely damaged. There is no surgery that would help it at this point. He said the nerve heals 1mm a day. (25 1/2mm = 1in) (Thanks to Buck's Calculations!) Which means this could take up to a year to reach my little finger. Once the nerve heals then I can get the muscle strength back, but not until it is healed.

So, in conclusion, I was excited to hear that I would not need surgery on either arms. However, I was disappointed to find out that this could take me up to a year to heal. (There is also the possiblity that it will not heal, but I am not going to talk about that option.) Next week I will start therapy twice a week at the same place where I went to see the hand surgeon. They will work specifically with the function of my hands. Fun stuff, I am able to leave out of the house!

One to go...

My main medical doctor wants me to get a second opinion with another hand surgeon which is a good idea when talking about my hands. This will give me a little more insight as to where I am going to go from here. Everyone knows, I want to make sure after all this is over I am able to still play softball! :)

*Melissa Lyle*

No news is good news...

Lissa sent this email to me to update everyone. There have been and will be a lot of new steps last week and to come. It's exciting to see the progress, and for many of you - a blessing to her as you walk through it with her in one way or another. So here it is....


I apologize for not keeping this more up to date, but here is an earful! A
lot has happened since I wrote last.

First off, God is good! There is never a day that goes by without thinking
about how blessed I am. I'm ALIVE! I have never been bored or depressed, because there is no reason to be. I figure this is just another phase in
my life and although I don't know exactly where it is leading or what to
expect, I'm along for the ride!!! I have a husband that would do anything
for me, family that is supportive and always willing to keep me company,
our Church family who prays and encourages me, and school family which has
sent notes, e-mails and stepped up to take care of my teaching
responsibilities while I am away.

Secondly, this is the third week I have received physical therapy and
occupational therapy. I am currently considered "home bound" so each lady
comes out to the house twice a week. I have seen much progress and they
have too. Hopefully this next week will be my last week of "home bound"
therapy. Then I will be going for out patient therapy.

The Next step is to see a hand surgeon this coming Monday. I am anxious
to see what the prognosis is. This will determine how much longer I am
out of school. As much as anyone can complain about a job, when you are
not able to do it, you miss it. I miss the students. I stopped by "my"
8th grade girls b-ball game last night. Seeing the students was hard.
I know why I am in the teaching profession.

Finally, please continue to keep me in your prayers. I am healing, but not
fully there yet. I am starting to sleep for part of the night in bed! As
silly as that may seem, it is a big deal for me. The more my body heals,
the more comfortable it is to do many things. The little things like riding
in a car, walking, tying a shoe that we take for granted; I now have a new
appreciation for.

Thank you to all, my cup overflows.

*Melissa Lyle*

A Lissa Exclusive

Lissa is making some great steps. One of those being that she is able to get on the computer a little bit. She emailed this to me today. So you get to hear it straight from our girl.

Another week has past and I am getting stronger, gaining some weight back, and taking the next steps in recovering. I have been getting up and about a lot more this week. I am working on gaining back the muscles I lost sitting around. As much fun as it is getting around, I pay for it later with pain and soreness. Monday Ryan and Bennie (my little 6'3" brother) took me to Allen's Corner for brunch. The next step was getting a pedicure! Ryan's little sisters Sarah and Becca gave me a gift certificate for Christmas and Ryan's older sister Rachel took me on Wednesday, so at least my feet look good. Yesterday, Ryan and Jared (Ry's brother) took me to get MRI's done on both my right elbow and my left arm. We had some time to spare before the weekly doctor's apt. so we went to Panera for lunch and then since the boys were good we stopped by Best Buy to get some movies.

After talking with the doctor, the next step is to get an EMG to test the nerve damage in my right arm and then take those results to the hand surgeon with the MRI's. Right now it seems like if it is not one thing, its another. God is teaching me patience and peace through all this and although this may not be what I had in mind for the new year, God is good. He knows best.

Thank you for all your prayers, cards, e-mails, phone calls, dinners, and help. Ryan and I are blessed to have such great friends, family, church family, and co-workers. I will try, with Kay's help to keep this sight updated. Thanks again for everything and Happy New Year.

Physical Therapy and Food

Well, it's been another week, and Lissa made her second trip to the doctor on Thursday. The previous week, they lessened her nausea medicine, and pain medicine. Lissa was not able to take the loss of the nausea medicine, because she was very nauseated all week. She lost about 12 pounds, and didn't eat much of anything. So, the doctor put her back on that, and she seems to be doing better eating since.

Friday she went to her first physical therapy appointment, and her doctor there is going to have her take an MRI on her arms. They want to do more testing specifically on her right arm to see how much damage has been done to the ulna nerve. The left thumb may need some repair work as well. Please pray that these tests would be helpful and that the physical therapy could increase the capabilities that she has with her arms and hands... And that she would continue to keep eating.

Doctor's Visits

So Lissa, Ryan, and Ma Lyle visited the doctor on Thursday. The good news is that she made it home safely. The bad news is that from the sounds of it, it was a rough day. As they went into the X-ray room, Ryan told the technician that Lissa had broken ribs, but she did not hear that part as she had Lissa bend and move to tears. Then she realized that Lissa had 8 broken ribs. Four hours later they returned home. She'll be visiting the doctor weekly now, so prayers would be greatly appreciate that her next trip will be better.

The good news is that yesterday was a much better day. Lissa is looking forward to going to Christmas Eve with the Lyles and down to the Thurow's Christmas day. They will be very big days for her, but she doesn't want to miss any of the Christmas celebrations!

Leavin' on a jet plane

So my last day hangin' with Lissa and Ryan was yesterday. I'm already missing them. They are fun...even if restrained by bruised and broken bones and number arms. I must say that it was very exciting to see Lissa's progress in the six days that I was there. She is getting much more movement in her arms and her fingers than when I arrived. She is always trying to do more and more. Today she visited the doctor for the first time since she has been out of the hospital. I'll update you more when I get news of this.
It was truly great to "see" Lissa first hand. In some aspects she looked better than I had thought, and others just made me sad thinking of all the trauma her body has been through.

God is Great, God is Good...

...Let us thank Him for our food.

Lissa and Ryan want to thank all of those who have made and brought incredible dinners to their home. They are truly overwhelmed by your goodness and kindness and skills at making unbelievable dinners. And they want to thank all of those who have planned their future dinners as well.

Today was an okay day. She woke up this morning to hearing from cousin Joe in Iraq to check up on her. After picking on each other, we ventured out for another hair washing at Rachel's. I was a little nervous about driving her there with the snowy roads with such a fragile girl, but we did good. That tired out Lissa, so she slept for quite a while after that. We have just been hanging out this evening, which has been very nice.

Flashback to Saturday:

Saturday evening, we wrapped Christmas presents. Since Lissa was not able to wrap, which is what she loves to do. We popped in our favorite "White Christmas" to get in the Christmas spirit. Ryan labeled all of the name tags, and she vicariously enjoyed it through us.

I've also been enjoying what Lissa and Ryan call, Hannahkuh. Lucky for me, they have me for Christmas this year, and I get to open presents early. So, every night they sing me a little ditty with Happy Hannahkuh in it and I get to open presents.

Thanks for your continued prayers, cards, and encouragement. It means so much to Lissa, and really seems to lift her spirits when she tells me about each of you.