Jesse Has Taken Over!

Hello all! This is Jesse (writing to you for the first time), and I have now unofficially taken over this blog. Well, now that I can write my own entries, that would be best, since they are about what God's been doing in my life lately. Of course, my dad, Roy, and cousin Em are still free to post whenever they would like to do so. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with this blog and keeping me in your prayers. God has truly been doing amazing, miraculous things in my life recently, so thank you for being such a vital part of it!

I would like to take this chance now to elaborate on a few details from my last elbow surgery, giving a brief overview. The original purpose of the surgery was to remove all the extra heterotopic bone growth necessary to give me the highest possible range of motion, and to remove all the hardware that was no longer necessary. The surgeons did remove 2 of the 3 plates and about 15 of the screws holding them down, as well as enough heterotopic bone to allow my elbow full range of motion at the end of the surgery! This was very good news, as previously my range was quite limited by that bone growth blocking the joints.

However, this surgery on May 10th was prolonged about an hour due to some unforeseen complications the surgeons back in October had failed to notice. The lateral radial collateral ligament (located on the outside, which you can see by clicking here) had been completely torn off; additionally, the ulnar nerve was badly damaged and being crushed by the bone growing in, to the point that my doctor said he was surprised my arm hadn't gone numb yet. Fortunately, the doctors managed to find enough of the ligament to stitch it back together, and relocate the ulnar nerve in order to continue with the removal of bone. As a result of moving the nerve, about half of my hand went numb, and is very slowly regaining feeling as the weeks go by. (This has made it quite difficult to play guitar or piano, I might add).

At this point, I am very grateful for the incredible improvement my elbow has shown. All I can think to do now is to say thank you to those of you who have helped me through this experience so far, and all of you who have been praying for me! And thank YOU, God, for giving me yet another wonderful chance at life!