On Friday, February 25, I took the latest step in the long journey I have been on regarding my health. Because so many have reached out about how I am doing, I wanted to share an update with you.
Here is the update.
In 2017, I began experiencing concerning spasms on the right side of my body. For a brief period, the doctors suspected something terrible like Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, or a tumor, but quickly ruled these problems out. Eventually, they discovered that the problem was a dislocated cluster of blood vessels in my brain that was putting pressure on one of my cranial nerves.
Once the problem was discovered we began a lengthy season of discovering how to treat it. We met with numerous neurosurgeons and tried several different medical interventions to seek to reduce or eliminate the spasms. When it was clear that other solutions were not helping, all my doctors ultimately recommended brain surgery.
The surgery required drilling a small hole in the back of my skull, entering my brain, relocating the displaced blood vessels, and wrapping the damaged nerve with Teflon to protect it from any further damage. The surgery, in September of 2020, was intense. It required several days of recovery in the intensive care unit at Mayo Clinic and weeks of recuperation at home after that.
At first, the surgery seemed like a complete success. I was excited that 100% of my symptoms resolved. After a few months, however, my symptoms had not only returned but were actually worse. I was experiencing more extreme spasms across a wider area than I had before surgery. My doctors reluctantly made the decision to do a second surgery called a revision.
After that second surgery in May of 2021, some of the more extreme symptoms I had experienced went away, but I have not had a single day without spasms. Nerves are slow to heal, and the doctors were hopeful that given enough time I would fully recover. But my symptoms remain, and the reality is that I am forced to conclude that the surgeries which were supposed to help me, and which work in 95% of patients with my problem, have not been successful.
Realizing the situation, I went back to Mayo Clinic to hear from the neurology and neurosurgery teams about what is going on, and what the path forward for me is. They gave me bad news and good news.
The bad news is that my incredible team of doctors are no longer talking about solving this problem. For reasons that they are not able to explain, I am one of the very few patients that have been resistant to every treatment for this problem. It appears that this will be a problem that I have to live with for the rest of my life. Of course, the Lord can and may heal me at any time, but my human doctors are out of options to fully resolve this problem.
The good news is that, while they cannot fully remove the problem, there are options that can help to manage it and minimize some of the symptoms that I’m having. We have three really encouraging options that we can pursue. We are going to start with the least aggressive medicinal option and graduate to more aggressive options depending on how I respond.
I am excited to see if these options will work, though my expectations are tempered by the fact that every intervention we have tried for five years has been unsuccessful.
I will be honest with you. I am disappointed by the results of all these attempts at resolution. It is beyond discouraging that I have had two grueling operations on my brain without much significant improvement. That’s just the truth.
But as I observe my own heart, I also want you to know that I am far more encouraged than I am discouraged. No matter how I look at this situation, I can’t help finding more reasons for gratitude than for frustration.
The Bible says that we are to “Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Let me give you five quick reasons why I am so thankful.
Dr. Heath Lambert has been the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville since 2017. He is the author of several books, including Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace.
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