pain...

So I (Amy) am laying here on the couch at 3am on Friday morning in quite a bit of pain and thought I'd ask for your prayers.

Most of you probably know that I've got an extremely rare birthmark on the back of one of my legs, (I definitely don't want to draw attention to it, but it's pretty hard to miss) and for the past year I've had an extremely sensitive spot on the top of my foot (looks more like a sore that hasn't healed) that has been raised up from the surface of my skin and has been giving me lots of trouble. (unable to wear shoes, pain, etc.)

Well, after months & months of letting it go, hoping it would heal itself, & seeing my regular doc about it, yesterday I finally got in to see a leading dermatologist at UVA in Charlottesville (1 hour away from us), who took one look at it & knew exactly what my birthmark was and what needed to be done to the spot. (thank you, God! You see, I am usually greeted by doctors with somewhat glazed-over, perplexed expressions because my birthmark is so rare.)

Since I'm apparently such a medical "marvel" in the dermatology world (oh, & I'm sooo proud of that... let me tell you...ugh...), about 30 different doctors, residents/interns, & med students rushed into the office yesterday, (it's a teaching hospital) excited to see my leg, asking me questions, touching it, and taking pictures of it for future teaching. They were thanking me profusely for coming in. (as if THAT'S why I came in!) Quite the different story from something I usually spend most of my time trying to cover up & hide. :)

So anyways, the doctor did a procedure to cut out the "spot" which will now be taken to the lab for testing. He said the spot is likely a low-grade cancer that doesn't spread, and for birthmarks like mine, when those spots come up, you just need to get them taken out like we did. So I'll know for sure in a week or so, but I'm not worried on that end.

I thought the recovery would be fairly easy, too. (especially as I happily walked out of the office and went out to lunch with Marc & Caroline afterward) However, after the Novocaine wore off yesterday afternoon, I have been in pretty severe pain and they told me to only take extra-strength Tylenol, saying that ibuprofen & all the other over-the-counter pain medicines will only make my wound worse. (I'll spare you any graphic information on that.)

Long story short, I can't sleep with that much pain, so I'm up on the couch waiting for 8am when I plan to call & ask them to call in something to help ease the pain so hopefully I can get some sleep. My foot is completely wrapped up in bandages (not able to undress it or shower for 48 hours, and then it'll take another few weeks of bandaging it), and because it causes SOOO much searing pain to put any pressure on the foot, sweet Marc has gotten me a pair of crutches to hobble around the house.

But I could use your prayers. I'd sure like to ease the physical discomfort I'm in. (I mean, who here LIKES physical suffering??) But also pray for our family-- it's just a terrible time of year for me to be laid-out on the couch when Marc is at his busiest time with RUF stuff starting up, and now he's having to juggle way too much and I feel terrible. Pray that my foot might be able to recover quickly so that I can get around and take care of sweet Caroline. (who, so far, I've been able to entertain pretty well from the couch, but getting up to change diapers & get her food is difficult) And pray that I'll be able to get some much needed sleep/rest tomorrow.

Thanks for praying. I'll keep you guys posted.