It is kind of ironic what my last blog entry was about, considering what I am about to share. It was about how Sept 30th was exactly a year since Caleb body began to flare-up last year. When I wrote that I was looking back and thankful...thankful for the lessons, but concluded with the fact that I was thankful it was over too.
Well...the following Tuesday Caleb flared-up again. Since he had started coaching football, we had not had many nights to hang out together. So since we were given free movie tickets, we decided to have date night and go see the movie "Courageous" on his day off practice. Before we got there Caleb mentioned that his hip was a little stiff. To be honest, that didn't seem right to me that his hip was that way. I figured I could see his knee...but something about it being his hip unnerved me.
Usually, after a good nights sleep, his body can heal up enough not to flare. But the next morning it was still stiff. And, as happens with a flare-up, he began getting pain and and his knee started popping too (which is a sign of an oncoming flare-up there). So, he went to practice and had to let them know he would have to be out for a bit to heal up enough.
The tricky thing about flare-ups is that it is a migrating arthritis. So he could have 200 cc units of fluid in a knee one day, then the next day he could also have it in all his toes...we never really know what the next thing will be. It is actually really scary because at that point, he could potentially lose function of whatever joint it effects for months.
The interesting and cool thing about this time around is that we got to put our "plan" into effect....the "plan" we came up with last year, after all was said and done, based upon what helped him the most then.
So....we prayed. First and foremost. I have to be honest, I was really sad. My friend Katie went to coffee that afternoon and wrote in our prayer journals. It was EXACTLY what I needed. Unlike last year, where I struggled to pray in faith, I asked God big things of this flare-ups. I felt peace this would not be a long lasting thing like last time.
And next we put Caleb on prednisone right away instead of waiting a bit.
And it seems to be working!! :) Praise God!! Although he has to baby his hip and knee a lot, it does not seem like last year at all. He is able to go to work, walk, etc....but he just has to come home and rest up his joints a ton. Meaning, he has had to, unfortunately, take a mini break from football....as a preventative measure of it getting worse, and in turn, getting bad again like we saw months ago.
However, we are not out of the clear as of yet. The prednisone will only be in his system a few more days. The tricky thing about this is we are really praying that ALL flare-up activity in his body is completely gone by the end of the weekend. Otherwise he will be susceptible to flaring up again at even a wrong pivot or standing too long, etc. His joints that were effected (his hip and knee) will be weaker for a while. In fact, he is figuring it will be sometime in 2012 before he even goes to the gym to lift super light weights again. (Not that it matters if he is at the gym...more just to give an idea of how long each joint is out as a result of this stuff...we are so thankful he is walking!)
All to say....he seems to be making a comeback...but he is not out of the woods at all yet. But we are defintely hopeful! He has to be soooo careful and totally baby his joints still for a while. He just has to be preventative from flaring again at this point. So, we continue doing what we began by doing....praying. God has healed him up before. And He will do it again. :)
And I still hold on to everything I wrote in the previous blog. This time around we, for the most part, have had soooo much peace. God is with us always, and He is always good.
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