The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The ebb and flow of good, bad, and ugly life events is sometimes fascinating. And it is sometimes frustrating.

Some bits of GOOD news this past week include my oncologist’s assessment that my tumor seems to be responding to the therapy and is a bit smaller. Apparently the objective is to get it small enough that the surgeon can cut me open and yank it out without too much collateral damage. Small steps … but steps indeed are being made in that direction. Also, the lab results show that my thyroid activity is back in the normal range after being four times what it should have been in its response to the immunotherapy. The endocrinologist has reduced the thyroid medication to one-fourth of what it was. Along with that good news was the foreshadowing beforehand that it was working by the significant reduction of the symptoms. Take THAT you nasty Thyroidians!

The BAD consists of my still being plagued by lack of strength, stability and endurance. I’ve been able to do some sewing for short periods of time and a little driving for LYFT and UBER (but only about one-fourth of what was normally my routine). It’s due to a couple of causes but my date with the P.T. (Pain and Torture) gurus is this week and we’ll begin to address that.

The UGLY made its appearance on the stage of my life this morning. After a good time attending church and hearing a great message from the latter half of 1 Peter 4 regarding suffering as a Christian … I was thinking, on the way home, about James 1, where we are told to “count it all joy when (not if) we fall into various trials, knowing this; that the testing of your faith … is a good thing because it builds you up and causes you to grow”. OK … As we drove home from church I thought seriously about making a trip to Joanne Fabric store to get some supplies. I deferred, however and just went home. As I began backing into the driveway we heard a clunk … and thereafter had NO forward, reverse or even park from the transmission. The vehicle is now sitting on the curb after some help from some neighbors. Tomorrow I’ll have it towed to the repair shop and await the ugly news. Am I counting it all joy? To be honest, I’m working on it but that condition at the moment is aspirational. I am rejoicing though that it happened in front of my house instead of halfway to the Joanne store!

There you have it … the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY.

God is still at work in my life!