Why are men so stubborn?

This is my husband, with whom I am madly in love. And about 97% of the time, he is laughing just like the picture shows. The other 3% of the time, he is somewhat serious. Knowing when he's in a bad mood (which is rare) or when something is on his mind isn't hard. Lately, he hasn't been laughing nearly as much.

About five years ago (we tried to figure out just how long it had been, but we can't remember) he had gone on a golfing trip with a Fuji rep that he has known forever. This was a three day trip with about five rounds of golf. I think John ended up playing only three rounds.

When he got home, he was complaining of his neck hurting. I, being the caring and sensitive wife that I am, ignored him. I mean, he had just played 54 holes of golf. He had probably pulled a muscle, right?? I think I even told him that I'd dealt with a crick in my neck for two weeks and didn't complain nearly as much as he was. (And John is NOT a complainer. Should've been my first clue.) Anyway, this went on for several days. "Get it checked out. You DO work at a hospital, after all," I told him. Of course, he didn't. By the time the weekend rolled around, he was doing nothing but complaining.

I offered to take him to the ER so they could x-ray him, but nooooo. "They can't do anything for me," he said. I was thinking they could give him DRUGS to knock him out and put me, I mean him, out of his misery. I honestly thought to myself that I was about ready to knock him upside the head. Seriously. I even considered leaving the house just to get some relief from his complaining but I decided that would be kind of mean. This went on ALL day that Saturday and that Sunday. Now, remember I said that he rarely EVER complains, so for him to complain the way he was was really beginning to grind on my nerves, and I was still thinking it was just a pulled muscle.

The next week, he finally decided he needed to have it checked out. When he told me he had two bulging discs, I felt HORRIBLE. The poor man really WAS in pain, and I had felt NO SYMPATHY whatsoever. I felt like I was the worst wife EVER.

The neurologist he eventually saw suggested surgery, but John was adamant that he was not going to let anyone cut on him. So he was sent to physical therapy. He went to PT twice and stopped because they were hurting him worse than his neck. He also saw a pain management specialist who wanted to give him narcotics. He refused that, too. (And I'm glad about that. Not a fan of narcotics.)

He finally learned (???) to deal with the pain, but over the last six months or so, he had started having more problems. First, his hands and arms would go to sleep on him almost every night and when he was driving. "Oh, it's just the way I sleep" or "It's the way your steering wheel is angled" or "It's the pillow" or "It's from my diabetes." Always some excuse. Then it started happening more and more often, and he started dropping things.

After some begging, he finally agreed to have another MRI to check it out. He had that done on Tuesday. The doc read it on Wednesday and sent him to Jackson Imaging for another scan on Thursday. (The scanner there is newer and produces clearer images than the one at ECH.) Dr. Turner read that one on Friday and scheduled him an appointment with the neurologist for Tuesday. I've already scheduled a half day off so I can go with him and see exactly what Dr. Rigsby says for myself.

So...five or so years later, it looks like John will be cut on after all. He now has three bulging discs. Two of them have actually bulged into each other (or something like that) and they are the ones causing the majority of the problem because they are pressing on his spinal cord.

This is kind of scary to me. No, this is really scary to me. I know this is a surgery that is done quite frequently, and I know several people who have had similar surgeries done, Mom included, but still.

I'll post an update, probably Tuesday night. Until then, have a GREAT day!