Category: Illness and Health

Posted on in Aging, Faith, Illness and Health, medical treatment, Prayer, Thanks, Writing Life

Recovery Week 3-1/2

January 31 I dictated to Word: Even dictating A blog post has been difficult. After I dictate I must go back to edit and correct. Since I am confined to this sling my right hand is basically useless. Reaching out to the computer mouse is out of the question.

The healing is going well but I forgot how slow it could be.

9 days with no sun says our weather man. However, Buffalo gets less sun than we do!

24-2-6 I am into the fourth week in sling. This is very difficult. When I take the sling off I find myself using my hand in ways that cause pain. Likely I should just keep it in the sling! There is a cacophony of moans and groans that accompany my life right now. I’m only taking Tylenol, no pain prescription, but yes shoulder pain is my companion.

Physical therapist says I am doing really well. I persevere with the prescribed stretches every few hours.

I am finally sleeping in my own bed instead of the recliner. For the first two weeks I used the electric ice machine pretty much continually. Now I only use ice packs as needed when the pain flares.

Me trussed up with sling and ice machine both strapped on!

I am so grateful for good books that hold my attention and keep me in the chair. I suppose I should have kept a list of what I have been reading. Oh well, let’s see, Louise Penney Kingdom of the blind, Joe Pickett I think the author is Box. Then a story about an animal entitled Now and Then. Read Jack Reacher book that was made into a movie. Partway through the book I realized I’d already read it but I continued because I could not remember the details. My neighbor Ginny brought me Crimson Phoenix which is the first in a series of three. I am now on book 2 which I got free from the library on hoopla.

Perhaps the most helpful has been a book by Elizabeth Elliott about suffering. I bought it several years ago but never started reading it. It really hits home right now.

Jigsaw puzzles have also held my attention though placing pieces with left hand is a challenge. As is eating with left hand!

I also began a new medication for the psoriasis. It is a biologic which they say lowers my immune system so whenever Bob takes me out in public I’m trying to wear a mask so I don’t pick up anything else. Physical therapist agrees this is a good idea. Though I was immunized, if I should contract the flu, vomiting would not be good with this shoulder recovering.

The Lord continues to uphold me and I am greatly encouraged every time I go back to Philippians 4 and think on such things that strengthen me. We finally have a return to sunshine and milder temperatures in the low 50s. Daffodil leaves began emerging in January and continue to get taller! Indoors, the amaryllis has been opening flower after flower and that cheers me immensely!

May you be blessed with an increase awareness of His presence within and about you!

Posted on in Aging, Family, Illness and Health, Prayer

Post-Op!

So this is the first post I’ve tried to write or rather dictate sense shoulder surgery. It will be quite a while before I can type again. I have to wear the sling for at least five more weeks. Surgery went well, thank you for your prayers. Bob and I could still use prayers as we navigate the ups and downs of having him do everything to run the house and me being not so helpful with just one hand. The weather here has been winter brutal and walking the dog four times a day has zapped his patience and taken a lot of his joy away. So pray for us as we continue to navigate this path to recovery

The doctor found not one partial tear but two partial tears in the rotator cuff one was vertical and one was horizontal. He repaired both of those. One side of the biceps muscle was disconnected from the bone and it will stay that way. He said that’s why it’s called the biceps; my arm will use the other part, the one that’s still attached. I have been able to reduce the pain medication by half. Physical therapy has begun and I do the stretches twice a day at home. As long as my shoulder does not freeze up I can attend physical therapy just once a week. If it freezes I’ll have to begin twice a week. All in all things are looking up.

Sadly, my recliner only has controls on the outside of the right armrest. That means to adjust the chair I have to reach all the way over and under my right arm and down on the outside of the chair to try to find the right button. I think electric recliners need to be required to have adjustments buttons on both sides. Just an observation. Trust me if I ever replace this chair, I’ll be sure to shop for one with buttons on both sides preferably inside the armrest.

Friends and neighbors have brought us gallons of soups.  Some of the soup is now in the freezer as we could not possibly eat all of that before it would spoil. Delicious stuff! There have been 3 flower bouquets and a get well soon balloon. We are grateful for each of them.  I pray that winter has not been too brutal where you are. Regardless of the caterpillars or the Groundhog predictions winter it is. I will say the moon was very bright on the snow at midnight.

Thank you for reading the blog even in my absence.  This post is likely full of typos. I receive an e-mail notification every time someone reads it and it cheers me. Blessings, Molly D

Posted on in Aging, Challenge, Faith, Family, Illness and Health, medical treatment, Prayer, Thanks, Yield

I Am on the Schedule!!

Surgery on my right shoulder is planned for next Thursday, January 11! Partial tear of rotator cuff, remove bone spurs, check biceps attachment. When I woke up at 4AM in pain this morning I was more than ready to take the surgery. Procedure will be arthroscopically, i.e., tiny incisions where tools and camera go in and surgeon makes repairs through them.

Ever since I got the news I have been working like crazy to get ready. Got my hair cut 5 inches so Bob does not have as much to wash or brush. See, I will be a sling for quite a while and not much use as to my typical duties. I am so grateful he is here to help me!

Pre-op physical is next Monday. I have had to change all my prescriptions to a new pharmacy due to insurance changes. Have them all filled and in the building. Boxes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime are filled for 3 weeks worth! Imagine trying to open a pill bottle with one hand, especially your non-dominant hand.

My neighbor was very generous to loan me her ice machine. Nifty machine that holds iced water which it pumps through tubes into a pad that cools the surgery area.

I had this surgery 20 years ago and for the life of me cannot remember how I got dressed! The surgery will be outpatient at Ortho Cincy surgical center. I will go home with an abduction sling. Have not tried it on yet. They will put it on me after surgery. Bob will be my driver and care giver.

Looks something like this

The recliner will be my sleeping location as lying down and getting up out of the bed will be something I have to progress towards. I will not be able to clean up my sleeping area (think sheet and blankets with assorted pillows). The guilt is already building. I am married to “Mr. Tidy” and I try to do my part to keep the common areas of the house tidy. My desk? That is another matter.

How does one prepare to be helpless and passive with a smile? Hard to be jolly about that kind of surrender. Yet I am going to try! “What ever is good, pure, lovely, worthy of praise, etc”

So yes, I would appreciate your prayers. All this weird positioning is never good for the arthritis and fibromyalgia. Imagine me with ice machine on my shoulder and heating pad behind my back! Woohoo, such a sight. No photos will follow…I might try dictating a post when I get off pain meds. Likely too hard to type for a while. I will have so much time to think up ideas for this blog!!

Today we listed all the frozen foods in our deep freeze. Made 2 large chicken pot pies with Pillsbury crusts. We have many frozen soups, meat sealed with gravy or broth, etc. Green chicken chili, black beans,etc, Mom’s vegetable soup recipe. Not to mention frozen pizza for Bob and the foods friends will drop off.

Minimum weeks in a sling, months in physical therapy. I will need gallons of patience and I find that ice cream cannot provide that. Drats! I will have Bob post for me after surgery. I am certain it will go well. Trusting the Father and rejoicing that I will have this repair.

Posted on in Aging, Amazing Creations, Challenge, Faith, Illness and Health, medical treatment, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks, Worship

A New Year

For older folks, if their prescription drug coverage insurance company changed it means calling the new pharmacy to transfer your prescriptions from the other pharmacy to the new one. This morning the new pharmacy said my insurance card numbers did not work. What? the insurance company issued it. They said to just bring it in when refill is ready and they will work with me on it. Not a good beginning!

Are your Christmas decorations put away yet? Not all of mine. So far, we have undecorated the artificial tree. It is prelit but the weather has been so Ohio Gloomy that we have just left it up to brighten the room. Grandgirl will come help me put away nativity set on Wednesday. She is also tall enough that it is easy for her to clean the tops of the kitchen cabinets that do not go all the way to the ceiling. Our lights on the back deck will stay put until Valentine’s day. Another effort to push back the darkness.

Ha! Just realized that by then two of my neighbors who are both expecting baby boys will likely have given birth! Oh I do love babies. My husband calls me the baby whisperer.

But my passion might be mitigated by shoulder surgery. Still waiting to hear if that has been scheduled. My surgeon is having surgery for pinched nerve in his neck something like January 18? If he can’t get me in before then, I might have to wait until he recovers. Thanksgiving 2022 I pulled something in my shoulder. Later x-rays and MRI showed partially torn rotator cuff. Had 2 bouts of PT. The steroid injection last spring/summer did not provide lasting pain relief 6 months. I hurt it again last week when I reached across the counter for a piece of waxed paper. Not even lifting! Now reaching for the salt shaker hurts. Let’s just suffice it to say I am eager to have this fixed, but do so want to hold newborn babies.

Another year and always more health challenges for those of us blessed to be growing older. Thank You LORD for giving us life and love for another year. You have brought us safely this far. We trust You to walk with us into the future. We know You are the only thing going on for eternity. So we clasp Your hand in faith and with joy, knowing that we are never alone. You are always with us.

Posted on in Faith, Humor, Illness and Health, medical treatment, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks

“Suffering Succotash”

Certainly you have heard Sylvester say it like the clip below.

My mom’s succotash was baby lima beans and corn.

If you look up the meaning most sites say it is a minced oath. A what? Minced oath for suffering savior?

In the mid-1800s, during the Victorian era, there was a rejection of all profanity and so the common people developed a wide variety of malapropisms to avoid swearing on Holy names. Soon, one could hear Cripes and Crikey replace “Christ” and Dangnabit replace “G*d damn it” and Cheese ‘n’ Rice replace “Jesus Christ.” The phrase Suffering Succotash replaced “Suffering Savior.”

Today the latter phrase is known only as an expression of annoyance and surprise by animated cartoon characters such as Sylvester the Cat and Daffy Duck. Was the expression still in vogue when the Looney Tunes cartoons were made, or did the cartoons resurrect an expression that had already lapsed from the American lexicon?

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/217793/suffering-succotas

Did they really mean Sylvester was using that in terms of the Suffering Savior I love? I certainly hope NOT!

Suffering well after the manor of those with chronic illness. Me and some friends understand chronic suffering. If you do not have a chronic illness, you probably do not understand what others go through. Yes, you can be empathetic, but understanding usually only comes with the actual experience. I told one friend when she received a chronic diagnosis that we are fortunate if there are 3 or 4 people we can talk to about the details, people we can trust. No cliches, no quick fix Scriptures, no blunt judgement. I cherish those people.

How to embrace the chronic? Some things I have learned include, I am not going to feel better in the morning. Just go with the flow or stagnation. Whichever occurs is current reality. Suffering is said to be when we try to change the current reality, ‘kicking against the goads.’ An ox goad is a wooden tool, approximately eight feet long, fitted with an iron spike or point at one end, which was used to spur oxen as they pulled a plow or cart. Kick against it like an ox and you are likely to get a wound.

About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

Acts 26:13-14 NIV

I understand the need to push back against darkness that wants to distract me from writing about Jesus and talking about Him and living for Him. With a chronic illness diagnosis in 1989 Pentecostals and charismatics said I should resist illness. Yet Jesus told me He would be with me in it. Whom should I believe? I go with Jesus. I pray for healing, but I rest in His Presence and care.

He does not make chronic easy. He does not take it away, but He does make it bearable. He does comfort me. Pain is part of life. Chronic illness can bring pain but some believe that suffering is optional. We avoid suffering by acceptance of what is – in contrast to – wishing things were different.

Jesus suffered. His relationships were disappointing. He suffered unbelief from others. He suffered from being bruised, mocked, beaten, crucified. He died exposed on a cross, feeling separated from the Father. He was buried in a cave. He knows what we feel and what we go through. He walks with us through each occasion. He came to inhabit those very times with us. He knows our misery.

Kicking against reality can create misery. Acceptance does not make the reality go away but it can ease our suffering in the midst. Immanuel, God with us, Eternal gift from the Father. When exasperated by yet another symptom or medication requirement I might say, “Sufferin’Succotash!” I never mean it to degrade what my Savior went through. I just get as exasperated as Sylvester trying to catch the Tweety Bird!

Posted on in Aging, Challenge, Faith, Illness and Health, Just do it, medical treatment, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

Why Get RSV Immunization?

My adult niece, (under 50 years old) has been sick for 2-1/2 weeks. Truly could not get out of bed. She did not have a cold. She had RSV that went to pneumonia.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes infections of the lungs and respiratory tract. It’s so common that most children have been infected with the virus by age 2. Respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-ul) virus can also infect adults.

In adults and older, healthy children, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) symptoms are mild and typically mimic the common cold. Self-care measures are usually all that’s needed to relieve any discomfort.

RSV can cause severe infection in some people, including babies 12 months and younger (infants), especially premature infants, older adults, people with heart and lung disease, or anyone with a weak immune system (immunocompromised).

Mayo Clinic

RSV is on the rise in Ohio. Modern medicine has provided us with an immunization against this virus. My husband already had his immunization as his lungs are compromised. I did not get mine at the same time due to my immune system being in an uproar with many contributing factors. I got mine last weekend. This disease is viral, so antibiotics do not help if you get the illness.

Again, another respiratory illness we do not need to mess with. If my niece could be so ill she took to her bed for over a week, I do not want to imagine what would happen to us old folks if we should catch it. Please, get your shot!

My niece is on a course of steroids to help her lungs recover.

Please don’t mess around with this.

Posted on in Art, Faith, Illness and Health, Listen, Music, Prayer, Worship

Tear Off the Roof

The image above is the traditional one of this Bible story. Jenkins has given it a new and perhaps more accurate image? It certainly left a smaller hole in the roof!

Faith and determination are expressed here. Did you know that Director of the Chosen, Dallas Jenkins, and Brandon Lake cooperated on this video and production of some scenes of the Chosen, telling not only the story of the man paralyzed since birth but also the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 2 and Luke 8. The music video below is form Lake’s latest album entitled Coat of Many Colors.

written by Brandon Lake, Chris Davenport, Jacob Sooter, Hank Bentley, Jordan Colle
Some of the lyrics are:
Tear off the roof 
The King’s in the house 
Just get me to Jesus 
I don’t care how 
I don’t have to wait to get the healing 
I gotta faith without a ceiling 
So tear off the roof 
‘Cause the King’s in the house 
  
There’s power in the presence 
Power in the blood 
Power in the name of Jesus 
There’s power in the presence 
Power in the blood 
Power in the name of Jesus 
And He has more in the hem of His garment 
Then the camp of the enemy 
There’s power in the presence 
Power in the blood 
Power in the name of Jesus 
  
I didn’t come here to hide in the crowd 
I’m pressing through to you 
I don’t care how 
Reaching out my hand to get the healing 
I’ve got a faith beyond the bleeding 
‘Cause I didn’t come here to hide in the crowd 
Oh 
  
There’s power in the presence 
Power in the blood 
Power in the name of Jesus 
There’s power in the presence 
Power in the blood 
Power in the name of Jesus 
He has more in the hem of His garment 
Then the camp of the enemy 
There’s power in the presence 
Power in the blood 
Power in the name of Jesus 
There’s power in the name of Jesus 
  
There is a life changing 
Grave shaking 
Dead raising power in the room 
Heart-healing 
Hell-stealing 
No ceiling power 
So tear off the roof

I am praying your faith determines to get to Jesus any way possible!

Posted on in Collection of Quotes, Faith, Illness and Health, Just do it, medical treatment, Special Event, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks

How Many Days?

Is November 23, 2023 the only day this year you will be giving thanks? Day 327 of the year.

Traditionally it is a time to give thanks for all the sacrifice and hard work done for the harvest. In modern times people take time off work (4 day weekend starting Thursday) and spend time with family and friends over a large feast held on Thanksgiving Day.

https://www.calendardate.com/thanksgiving_2023.htm

Few if any of us have participated in bringing in the harvest of food! Feasting, football and family we have a better understanding about.

I am asking though about giving thanks to the Lord of the Harvest. To God, “from whom all blessing flow.” Being grateful, giving thanks as a way of life can change us from the inside out. Forming the habit of thanksgiving we can change how our eyes see, how our brains interpret.

So how many days this year have you given thanks? There is rarely an easy way to answer that. Perhaps you have set aside a day per month to list things you are grateful about? Likely, more than one thing made that list?

This could be a good time to decide to change and make it a daily habit to give thanks. Not just a rote prayer at meal time, but an actual listing of things.

In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.

People feel and express gratitude in multiple ways. They can apply it to the past (retrieving positive memories and being thankful for elements of childhood or past blessings), the present (not taking good fortune for granted as it comes), and the future (maintaining a hopeful and optimistic attitude). Regardless of the inherent or current level of someone’s gratitude, it’s a quality that individuals can successfully cultivate further.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier

Then this comment from New York Presbyterian Hospital staffer

The holidays are about more than presents and being together with family and friends — they’re also about being thankful. Turns out, being thankful can have many positive health effects. Studies show practicing gratitude can lead to more intimate and connected relationships, less depression, more motivation and engagement, and better overall mental well-being.

https://healthmatters.nyp.org/is-gratitude-good-for-your-health/

I like the clarification above about past, present and future. This truly is a quality we can cultivate. Here in Ohio, this is not the time of year to cultivate the land, The soil of your heart, however, is waiting for you to sow the seeds of gratitude and gratefulness. Imagine the harvest you will reap in body, mind and spirit from this minimal conscious effort!

The research shows that 3 a day – three moments or events that you are grateful for – every day – every single day – can have a huge impact on your health and well-being. What do you have to lose? Why not begin now if you are not already doing this?

We can set our watches to remind us to stand or get a certain number of steps daily. Why not set your watch to remind you to pause and write out 3? Not so difficult when you think about it.

We do not have a record of how often Jesus was grateful and gave thanks, but there is this quote:

At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

Matthew 11:25 NIV
Posted on in Aging, Book quotes, Faith, Illness and Health, Listen, Memories, Moving, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks, Yield

Good Thought

Have you read books by Rachel Remen, MD? I first found one in Albuquerque one the shelf of a coffee shop where you could take a book or leave a book. I have only read these two so far:

When we down-sized to moved I disposed of them. Recently I got one back. Now I will purchase the other one once I have finished the first again. The stories are short and great for those who might not have the attention span or stamina for long reads. Everything I have read from her though has been powerful. When this quote came in daily email from Gratefulness I wanted to share it and her writings with you.

Perhaps the secret of living well is not in having all the answers but in pursuing unanswerable questions in good company.

Rachel Naomi Remen

Isn’t that a wonderful thought. Years ago I thought I might have the answer to some things. As I turned older and older I realized I not only did not have the answers, I wasn’t even certain what the questions were! However, pursuing unanswerable questions with my husband and other other good friends has made for a good life.

I wish the same for you!

Rachel Naomi Remen, MD is Clinical Professor Emeritus of Family and Community Medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine and Professor of Family Medicine at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Ohio. In 1991 she founded the Remen Institute for the Study of Health and Illness (RISHI) a national training institute for physicians, nurses, medical students, nursing students, veterinarians and other health professionals who wish to practice a health care of compassion, meaning, service and community. She is an internationally recognized medical educator whose innovative discovery model course in professionalism, resiliency and relationship-centered care for medical students, THE HEALER’S ART is taught at more than 90 American medical schools and schools in seven countries abroad. Her bestselling books Kitchen Table Wisdom and My Grandfather’s Blessings have been published in 23 languages and have millions of copies in print.

In recognition of her contribution to medicine and medical education, she has received numerous awards including three honorary degrees, the prestigious Bravewell Award as one of the earliest pioneers of Integrative Medicine and Relationship Centered Care. In 2013, she was voted the Gold-Headed Cane award by UCSF School of Medicine for excellence in embodying and teaching the qualities and values of the true physician. Dr. Remen has a 70-year personal history of chronic illness, and her work is a potent blend of the perspectives and wisdom of physician and patient.

https://www.rachelremen.com/

Posted on in Aging, Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Illness and Health, Just do it, Listen, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks, Worship, Writing Life, Yield

So Very True

Here is a wonderful thought to ponder.

No amount of regret changes the past. No amount of anxiety changes the future. Any amount of gratitude changes the present.

Ann Voskamp

Many times I begin my prayer thanking the Father for another day of living and loving. Reflecting upon my recent birthday I thank the Holy One for another year of living and loving.

Best birthday card ever!
From my sister
My sister, Paula
Me

“At our age there are not lots of new friendships, but the ones we experience we hold dear.” Our neighbor, Kathy, has only been known to us a couple of years. Through her first year of struggling to get her brain around what it takes to live with a chronic illness and that illness being also a rare one, we became close. It is difficult to communicate with people who have never suffered from chronic illness. As Kathy says, “They just don’t get it.” Her diagnosis, antisynthetase syndrome, is rare and causes much misery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisynthetase_syndrome Fewer than 50,000 people in the US are thought to have this. Together we have re-affirmed Ann Voskamp’s wisdom that ‘any amount of gratitude changes the present.‘ This year when she returned to Florida, as snowbirds have a tendency to do, it was harder than ever to let her go. We have been married the same length of time, we are the same age, we each have a son and a daughter. Both of us have 3 grandchildren! Her wisdom and friendship bless me deeply. We share our faith freely. When I developed scalp psoriasis I told her I was getting tired of being like her! We don’t speak about dandruff, we refer to blizzards of skin cells falling from our heads after we scratch. We both need to vacuum our beds, our chairs and our cars. It is almost impossible to NOT scratch this sort of itching.

As I unwrap this gift of a new year of life I will try to remain present to all that is given. Life is truly a gift.

With another year of aging, I cling more and more to this verse in Corinthians

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV

Less energy, true that. Less flexibility, true that. Undiagnosed hand and foot itching, yep. More renewal, thank the LORD for that! The Scriptures declare He will never leave me or forsake me. And it is true. There are times when I move away from God, but He is ever near and holds me in His nail-scarred hands.

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are ever before me.“

Isaiah 49:15-16 NIV

I truly live a varied and pleasing life, rich in adventure and blessings. There is no way I can account for it. One friend tells me I see things others do not when I take a walk. I am blessed to be married to the best man in the world. This year I have continued to work on finding some of the best recipes to cook. (I already miss fresh Ohio tomatoes!) My desk remains stacked about 6 inches deep. If I ever get ‘caught up’ I suppose it will be time to die? Let’s not even discuss how deep the sewing table is with projects.

I have out lived both of my parents. Bob calls it the ‘miracle of modern chemistry.” This year I promise to continue to write this blog as long as I am enabled to come up with new thoughts and inspirations.

May you cling to the One who has you engraved on the palms of His hands. May you rest in the knowledge that the same Holy One is able to renew you day by day. Peace and all blessings to each of you, my dear readers.