GRANITE FALLS, NC (December 19, 2024) ⇒ Due to the state of my health, I am being forced to close down the Caldwell Journal.
In October of 2020 I began to experience lower back pain and weakness in my knees followed by moderate to severe burning pain in my legs with extremely painful muscle spasms in my legs as well. I could barely walk and needed assistance when doing so. Early in 2021 I underwent a very extensive procedure that lasted nearly 10 hours to address my spinal cord for being severely compressed. I was left with irreversible nerve damage that has caused difficulty with standing/walking and severe burning pain from my lower back down to my feet.
Just this week (12/16/2024) my doctor informed me that I have more issues at the L4 and L5 levels of my lower back that will probably end up requiring fusion surgery.
The severe burning pain from my lower back down to my feet has been life altering and unbearable for me and for this reason I am being forced to close down the Caldwell Journal.
If it were not for my beautiful, caring, and loving wife Merri Lee Jackson I don’t know how I could make it through this extremely difficult time in my life. – Mark Jackson