kylegilbert

The surgery seems to have been completely successful in removing the sciatica pain that I felt going through my leg, which is wonderful news. I can happily sit in a chair again. I didn’t realize how much I missed this.

In place of the sciatica, I now have pain in my spine, but I expect that to get better every week.

My back in supposed to stay straight at all times, so no bending. Even still, I’m managing to put on my socks by myself now. I’m trying to walk a couple of miles each day, and each day some of the old-man shuffle seems to go away.

The worst thing I’m dealing with now is making transitions: laying down, rolling over in bed, and getting up from bed. These things are slow and painful, and they make me feel like my arms and legs are a mile long – getting tangled and making it very hard to keep my back straight through the process.

Oh, and sneezes. And the evil back cramps I had last night (yes, there apparently is such a thing). Shudder.

Today, I arrived at the hospital at 7:15 am, and after a visit from my friends Josh and Aaron, I went back for surgery at 9:30. Surgery lasted for an hour and a half. While I was in recovery, the surgeon came by to let me know that the herniation had been very large. (I’m not exactly sure why I find this particular information so encouraging, but it makes me feel tougher for some reason.)

By about 4:30, I left the hospital and arrived home. Then, I rested for about two-and-half hours in my bed.

Currently, I feel like someone hit me with a baseball bat multiple times in my back, crushing my spine. But for whatever reason, I haven’t taken any pain medication yet.

They told me that walking would help, so I’m interspersing my delicious vegetable soup dinner from friends Jeremy and Francis, with forcing myself to walk laps around our staircase in between bites. There’s a chance this might be the most pain I’ve ever felt in my entire life, so, I’m shuffling around in circles, feeling progressively less like passing out, Good times.

To all my friends who’ve lifted me up in prayer and encouraged me through this week and this day, I’m especially grateful. Thank you for loving me.

Today is a day that I’ve been waiting for for a while now. I’m scheduled to have a discectomy on L5/S1 later on this morning. Honestly, after dealing with this pain for so many months, it’s a little bit hard to imagine what it will be like to possibly live without it again. Equally difficult to imagine is a new sort of pain that could result.

The thing I am most certain of is that my heart is at peace with whichever outcome takes place today, and I feel a certain bit of enjoyment in being in a place with several relatively clear possibilities for my future. It’s something that seems to be rare in this life.

Father, thank you for the great gifts you’ve placed into my life: My wife is my dearest friend, full of kindness and love; my children are a joy to me, and that joy continues to expand with each passing day; my extended family is fun to be around, and abnormally fantastic; my friends are world-class – I’m fortunate to have an abundance of meaningful relationships that add untold encouragement and enjoyment; the job of my dreams that stretches me to grow and learn every day while working with an amazing group of people. I am blessed and grateful. This is a life I never imagined I would get to live.

My life is not perfect, and it has its share of challenges, but I am grateful for it.

I never would have guessed that I would say this, especially at this age, but I’m scheduled for L5/S1 back surgery on February 2nd. The procedure is called a discectomy, and it involves removing part of a herniated disc that is pressing on my spinal cord and causing pain down my right leg. If you’re into such things, you can click my MRI image above for an image with notes.

Fortunately, my mom and dad will be flying to Knoxville the night before to stay with us for a few days while I recuperate.

My neurosurgeon has given me an 80% chance of successful surgery, meaning that there is a 4 in 5 chance that the surgery will dissipate or resolve the pain I’m experiencing.

Honestly, I feel quite at peace about the whole thing and no real anxiety about the procedure, but your prayers are appreciated.

Tomorrow, January 9th, marks thirteen years of marriage between Keri and I.  It also marks nearly three months since these two little guys pictured above joined our family and turned our household of four into a party of six. They’re seriously cute when they’re not hungry.

Without question, these past few weeks have been some of the most challenging days of my life. The lack of sleep, the attempts at meeting the conflicting needs of both the older and younger kids, new and challenging work in the office, and major back pain that has forced me to give up sitting in a chair for more than a few minutes at a time.  It’s been exhausting and painful but also wonderful and delightful.  It’s been my biggest challenge as well as my greatest joy.

To my dearest wife, who puts up with my crazy mood swings, insatiable desire for neatness, and quickly graying hair: You’re one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. What would I ever do without you? I’m a shell of a man without your love and friendship. Let’s run away together (in about five years).

Here’s to lucky number 13. Praying it’s the best year yet!

For over year now, I’ve been in a mentoring relationship with a young man named Anthony. What started out as a partnership through Kid’s Hope (a school-based ministry that meets one hour per week), has now also become an outside-school relationship through Big Brothers International.

Unlike some kids in these programs, when I first started meeting with Anthony, his parents were married, very supportive of his education, and very involved parents. Honestly, there were many times when I wondered in which particular way I would have a positive influence on him since he is already an exceptional student, is socially outgoing, and is very kind and considerate.

The term brother, is really quite fitting, since that is the type of relationship we have.* I am his buddy: a friend who’s there to hang out, play games, and have fun. But until last month, I truly couldn’t imagine the divine potential our relationship could have until Anthony’s mother died unexpectedly of a heart attack.

The photo above was taken on Christmas Day, after sharing a lunch together with Anthony and his dad.

So I write this post for those of you out there who would consider stepping out of your comfort zone to enter into a mentoring relationship. Even if you feel that your time is limited and you question what it is you have to offer, I would encourage you to take a leap of faith, and see what God has in store.

* But maybe not little, since he’s only eight years old and nearly as big as me.

The world around us is enslaved in the daily grind – blind to their bondage and full of apathy. But some people, against all odds, throw off the yoke of oppression.

And so it begins with this young man.