Emily has spent her entire adult life helping others. She's a give you the shirt off her back and the rest of her drawer kind of person, so this has been so hard to do but here goes nothing.

Em had been in a back pain flare up for a couple of days. We knew she had a herniated disc, but have always been told she wasn't a surgical case. Lately it had been worsening and she was in the process of PT and a repeat MRI to check if the disc had herniated farther. That process sped up on Wednesday morning Emily woke up unable to walk to the bathroom. Weight bearing was difficult without excruciating pain and we made the decision that she needed to go to the ER. After some pain medication and an MRI, we were told that her disc had herniated so severely that it had begun pushing on her Cauda Equina and that she was at high risk for Cauda Equina Syndrome, which could cause paralysis and that surgery was needed emergently to relieve the nerves. Writing this I'm sitting in the waiting room. The board says she's in the OR and right now I'm praying that surgery goes well.

After the surgery Em will be out of work for a longer period because her job is labor intensive and we don't know when she will get clearance to go back. It's been hard to ask for help but the outpouring of love and support has been so overwhelming for us both and finding the words to say thank you has been difficult. If you are able to donate anything so we are able to focus on Em's recovery that would be astounding. Thank you so much for the love and support.

All my love,

Alex