Bryon's Surgery Expenses

As many of you know, the week of our church's Vacation Bible School in the beginning of June, Bryon lifted a flight case of lights, and the next day began to experience massive pain in his shoulder and lost the ability to lift his dominant arm higher than a few inches. After several doctor appointments, x-rays, and MRIs, Bryon was diagnosed with spinal stenosis of the cervical region and severe cord compression. He was referred to a neurosurgeon in San Antonio who recommended expedited surgery. The day after the surgery consultation, the surgery was pushed back to August 16 due to the surgeon being out for a month. We both felt a sense of this surgeon being divinely appointed and felt very comfortable with him. Because of his confidence in the procedure that he recommended (versus a spinal fusion as was originally thought by the referring doctor), how much we liked his PA, and that insurance approved this procedure with this surgeon, we opted to wait versus starting the process over and seeking out another surgeon. 

The blessing in all of this has been that because of the shoulder pain leading to Bryon seeing a doctor and then being referred to a specialist, a long-occurring condition was identified that has turned out to be the cause of many painful issues that have been going on for years, and debilitating cluster headaches that began earlier this year. For years, Bryon has been experiencing numbness in his hands and chronic pain that previous doctors attributed to neuropathy and other similar conditions. The cluster headaches were originally thought to be the result of repeated black mold exposure on a construction site late last year, but his doctors are now confident that the severe compression of his spine on the nerve canal is what is causing these as well, and that this problem will also be eliminated by the surgery. Praise the Lord!

Unfortunately, in the meantime, Bryon has been unable to return to his construction work since the week of VBS and has had to cope with the fact that he will be unable to return to it. He has continued to do lighting and sound gigs as they come up at the Arcadia theater in Kerrville, but this hasn’t provided enough to pay all our bills (including piling medical bills from the multiple MRIs, not to mention the cost of the upcoming surgery, anesthesiologist, hospital stay, etc. We have great insurance through my work but still have a deductible to meet and a very high out-of-pocket max). Additionally, the constant pain and the unpredictability of the cluster headaches make it difficult to work much. To make matters worse, my car broke down in July and the repairs were yet another huge unforeseen expense. I continue to work my full-time job at Hill Country MHDD Centers (where I’ve been employed since 2017) and am on a waiting list to DoorDash in my spare time, but we have had to adapt to a major loss of income. With the generous donations we have received so far, we have been able to cover our bills up to this point and have enough set aside to pay for the surgery itself, but that will eat up everything we have left. 

If God puts it on your heart to give, we would be ever so grateful, but of even greater importance, we ask for your continued prayers. Bryon and I are incredibly grateful for the friends and family God has put in our lives.  God bless you all!