I’m Back

It’s been a week since I last posted anything related to my whiplash ride on the Jeske’s Law medical rollercoaster. That was a deliberate decision on my part. It was a week laced with memories related to March 24th in history. It was on that date that my mom was born in 1922. It was on that date in 1968 at a church in Hammond, IN, that I confessed my need for a Savior and placed my trust in Jesus Christ and was baptized in public testimony to the new life I received. It was the same day, after a Kentucky Fried Chicken, finger lickin’ good, box meal on a church bus and some time on a park bench on the shore of Lake Michigan that my girlfriend efficiently wheedled a proposal of marriage from this unsuspecting, newly saved, sailor.

Those reminiscences were bracketed by a few days of mentally absorbing the journey I’ve been on since the middle of January. I’ll not recap all of those twists and turns here; you can read the previous posts to get that. Frankly, it’s exhausting to review it all. Furthermore, I discovered that while writing about it every day helped me to focus on what was happening and what to anticipate going forward, it did not give me adequate time to process each development on the emotional and spiritual levels. It startled me to realize that I was often talking to my readers and friends about new twists in the journey before I had engaged in the more important action of talking to the Lord about them.

The other bracket has been a few days of getting taxes done and contemplating the glorious implications of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and how it touched me 56 years ago this week!

That brings me to update you on the current situation.

I am very weak and have no endurance or stamina to speak of. Visits to the medical team are facilitated by the use of a wheelchair. I am physically confined to a prison defined by the 18 steps from my recliner to the bathroom, or if I want to be adventurous I can take 24 steps and lie down on the bed. I am watched carefully by my girlfriend and accompanied by my buddy, Hairy Potter, wherever I go. Hairy even pushes open the bathroom door to keep me company. I made it downstairs for a few minutes yesterday. It took about 4 minutes to get down, and about twice that to get up with my girlfriend hanging on to me on the downward trip and then pushing me from behind on the ascent.

The brain bleed of February seems to have faded into the past and the bowel perforation of March has healed. We are still dealing with the Thyroidians and while we won’t know the outcome of that for a couple of months, at least the medications have lessened the constant crummy feeling. My girlfriend is overseeing my high protein/high calorie diet intended to get me to the point where I can start physical therapy to regain the muscle mass that I’ve lost. She has been feeding me a lot of the individually wrapped chocolate frosted, cream filled, yo-yo type things. I’m hoping that we will soon graduate to chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies, some pecan and cherry pie, freshly baked donuts from Dunk’n, and other such delicacies appropriate for a high calorie diet. She’s also presenting me with an “old folks drink” known as Ensure. My mom used to call it “chalk water”. I’m not sure what it is ensuring, but the chocolate flavor isn’t as bad as I had imagined.

While seeing one of my medical team this week, I wheeled down the hall to see my old friend and Pain and Torture (PT) specialist, Brian. I briefed him on the situation and alerted him to the fact that I’d be seeing him in a couple of weeks. His confident response: “I’ll get you going again!” Oh, blessed encouragement!!

All in all, things seem to be on the flat part of the rollercoaster for now. However, we are traversing a stretch that is 180 ft. above the ground. I’m sure there are some more twists and turns ahead. Here’s hoping that there are no large cargo ships lurking below.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support. Please continue to pray for me … for my girlfriend … and for my medical team.

Grandkids and their Mom and Dad coming tomorrow … that creates a sense of joy that can only be outdone by the realization that HE is risen … He IS risen … He is RISEN!

Have a wonderful Resurrection Day celebration!