Great News!

I’ve been dealing with a few medical issues over the past month – partly brought on by my aging body and past injuries.

My entail back injury happened about 16 years ago while playing church league basketball in Albany, GA. I damaged my L5 disk and was down for about a month. It seems the moving of boxes/furniture and driving thousands of miles over the past few months has re-aggrevated the old L5 – to the point that I finally herniated the disk. So this week I visited with one of the top Neurosurgeons in Nashville, Dr. Allen, to get his opinion. He fully believes we can fix the problem through injections and Physical Therapy. The next 3 to 4 weeks will be crucial to avoiding surgery and I’m praying this works.

Then, yesterday I spent the day at Summit Hospital getting an Upper Endoscopy and Colonoscopy. About 10 years ago I went through a terrible bought of reflux or heartburn. It got so bad that I woke up in the middle of the night with chest pains! Long story short – I was diagnosed with Barrett’s Esophagus (normal cells replaced with pre-cancerous cells). Because of the pre-cancerous cells they recommend treatment through meds and keeping an eye on it through frequent scopes. The Colonoscopy was done because I have a family history of colon cancer.

Well, if you know anything about the Wilson family then you know we don’t always do things the easy way! The 4-hour test yesterday turned into a 12-hour marathon basically because we found out that my body doesn’t like this stuff called “Moviprep.” I will spare you the details by saying I got really sick.

Here’s where the GREAT NEWS comes in – at the end of the day – the doctor entered the room and explained that the Barrett’s Esophagus was gone and my colon looked healthy!!! This was the same doctor who originally diagnosed me with Barrett’s and told me I would have it my entire life! I will have to continue to manage my reflux but the existence of pre-cancerous cells is gone.

I’m still blown away by the news from the doctor. In the back of my mind I wondered if this was something I would live with for the rest of my life and even die from. I’m thankful for the news – for good medical care (not everyone has this luxury!) – for the answered prayer – and for my Savior who continues to carry me through the good days and the bad. I’m also thankful for my wife who took the day off and sat by my side through it all – and I do mean ALL.