We are the worst bloggers

It has been far too long for us to have posted anything here. Please forgive us.

The following is the email that we sent out to most everyone... Please accept our apologies if you were not on the list. Keep us in your prayers. Not just for me, but even more for Shelley!

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I (Jeremiah) was in the hospital since last Thurs. with two ruptured disks (the L4/5 and L3/4). I have been unable to walk since then and have been fighting extreme pain, we had MRI’s done on that Thurs. and had been waiting for the neurologist here in Cabo, he was out of town until Monday. The orthopedic surgeon and the neurologist here have recommended surgery, stating that they don’t think my body is going to heal on its own, though they can’t tell us that for sure.

At first we were thinking that surgery was going to be the best solution. We were feeling comfortable with having the procedure performed here and were more or less just waiting for the neurosurgeon to return. However, after much prayer and thought we’ve decided to take a more conservative course of action. We’ve been praying that the Lord would guide us in the decision making process and give us wisdom.

Before speaking with the neurosurgeon I had Shelley read to me out of the Bible - John ch. 5 where Jesus heals the man who has been an invalid for 38 years. Both of us are feeling the need to be more patient and desiring that the Lord would give us more faith in Him and His healing.

Another nugget of wisdom the Lord gave us, I believe, was a direct result of the neurosurgeon being out of town. This delay gave us enough time to have our Chiropractor and my neurosurgeon in San Luis Obispo (who performed the same surgery on me in 2005) look at the MRIs. They both have recommended that we give my body more time to heal before jumping into surgery.

All that being said, I am now home from the hospital. The plan, at least at this point is to wait 2 weeks and then reassess. I am on painkillers, muscle relaxants and now steroids & ice to try and bring down the inflammation. We are hoping that a combination of the medications, hanging upside down on an inversion table and more time will help the healing process. I am still unable to walk and in pain, we know that this is not going to be an easy road and are depending on God’s strength and grace to get us through.

My mom came down on Sunday to help us and will be with us for 2 weeks (or more if needed). Having her here is a tremendous blessing and has really taken a lot of the burden off of Shelley's shoulders. Thank you so very much for your continued prayer, love and support. We would not be making it though all of this without all of you and your prayers.

We continue to pray for wisdom, the Lord’s strength and for His Healing touch on me. If you know someone who would like to pray for us, please fill them in on the details and keep them posted.

Much Love, Jeremiah, Shelley, Owen and Elias