Goodbye May 11 … Hope to see you again next year.
Fill 'em up!
It looks like regular blood tests are my thing. I am such a baby. Something about the words “you’re gonna feel a little stick” makes me cringe. Who ever came up with that? A “little” stick as they jab a needle into your vein? I think it’s a lie. But I guess it’s better than “I’m gonna ram this needle directly into your vein to make you bleed into this bunch of tubes.” That would make me more nervous. If I ever am about to run over a phlebotomist I’ve decided to stick my head out of the window and yell “you’re going to feel a little bump now!” It will settle their nerves while my car speeds toward them.
I filled up a bunch of tubes today. Then NP Kate saw me and asked, “how are you feeling?” I should have said, “I feel like a speeding car just gave me a little bump.” I didn’t. I did give her a rundown of my aches and pains though. She looked concerned and said “hmmm.”
I think I have a bad case of “hmmm.”
My lungs are still gurgling with pneumonia, my joints are still achey, and my energy level is like a sloth at a barn dance.
The blood tests will tell us if my electrolytes and enzymes are off. It’s something about potassium and magnesium too. And they show if my liver has gotten better, worse or the same since last week. Then, next Wednesday I get to go get a little stick again for monitoring.
Thankfully, someone cancelled an appointment with my liver doctor and I get to go see him Wednesday too.
The following Wednesday I go back to see Kate again. I am a very busy man.
Still no contact with Lahey. It’s starting to remind me of girls I tried to date in high school. No answer, leave a message, no return call. I understand, they have many bad cases of hmmm on their hands. I’ll call again tomorrow.
Had a visit from my friend Peter today. He brought me some cookies. Peter’s cookies are awesome. I confess. I ate two. I am a bad boy. But didn’t God say he won’t give us anything we can’t handle? That must mean I can handle Peter’s tollhouse cookies, right?
Then tonight my aunts Betty and Barbara came to visit. They brought me great, liver-friendly gifts. Cream for dry skin, tonic water and cranberry juice for muscle cramps and an electric heated blanket. Ahhhh … It felt good not to be shivering while my leg muscles relaxed and soaked in the warmth. Plus, my 9 pound dog Skittles loved it too.
We laughed hard. It was great medicine!
Tomorrow my sister is going to bring me some nifty invention. I think she’s from the future.
And then Bill and Bev are coming and bringing supper. Robin is looking forward to just escaping for awhile to go for a run. That’s a sign of true friendship when a woman feels comfortable enough to get some time to herself while her pal prepares dinner. Yeah, I am worried about my wife a little – she needs to get out and not feel like she is a bad hostess or can’t leave me alone.
(insert hint here: maybe one of you gal pals can spring her to walk the boulevard or go to dinner or something? She might be a tough sell though.)
Today my future son-in-law mowed my lawn. I love that young man!
Okay, I must sleep. You can probably tell that I’m a little loopy.
Keep praying, stay hopeful and trust God. If you told me I could instantly have a healthy liver if I would just abandon my faith, I’d tell you it wouldn’t be worth it. I’d rather have liver disease than live without Jesus.
All of you are ministering to me so much! I am a blessed man.
Drinking from the Same Dipper 
Wow. I’m praying for you Wendy. Please let me know if your condition changes.
Some people get mad at God but I understand the state of this world. The bible says the rain falls on the just and unjust and the sun shines on the righteous and unrighteous alike. I don’t hold God at fault. I find strength in Him.
You are still in my prayers. Thank you for keeping all of us updated on your blog. Your doctor is annoying me by not getting back to you! I too am undergoing a serious health condition. I have a serious case of candidiasis and they have been trying to kill it off for about 3 months now. It happened after a dentist left a root in my mouth and we didn’t know about it for 11 weeks. I went through pneumonia for the entire 11 weeks and was treated over and over again with antibiotics and became completely antibiotic resistant and got a fungal infection to boot – the candidiasis. I have to go to the hospital all of the time and get stuck with needles. I have found that the best way to deal with getting stuck is to look at the needle. Something about knowing that it is going in and being in control of “the moment” helps me. As for me, they don’t know if they will be able to fix me either – so I am trusting in God as well. My lungs and my heart took a pretty good hit in the 11 weeks that I was undiagnosed. I walk around scared to death all of the time.
Like you, I’m not afraid of dying, I’m afraid of suffering – so I can completely empathize. Be strong and live day by day. That’s all we have. That’s all we had before we got sick anyway….right? We just didn’t realize it before now!