#53 MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Here are my thoughts for this week, one of my favorite times of the year, Christmas and New Year’s.  First, I'll start with my New Year’s resolution:

No more falling in 2018.  I am asked at every doctor’s visit if I have fallen recently.  I have gotten into the habit of saying no.  But I can't just rattle off an answer like that now.  It started with the “crash of 2017”.  You can read about that in a previous blog entry.  But the holidays can be rough sometimes in many different ways.  On Tuesday before Christmas I fell after passing out, probably from exhaustion of two days back to back that were extra tiring.  Then Christmas Eve (afternoon) I fell off a stool trying to take pictures for Christmas in front of the tree.  Medical professionals have told me that because of the injury to my mobility and the lack of proper feeling on my left side from surgery and treatment that things like this can happen.  They expect with time and continued therapy and improved strength, this too will improve, and I only need to be concerned if I hurt myself or if things get significantly worse. However, I simply lost my balance sitting on the stool, something that I knew was a potential problem. This time I ended up with a 6-inch bruise on my leg from Tuesday and a bump on the head from Christmas Eve.  Thankfully the bump on the head was on the opposite side of my surgery.  That was the worst of the injuries apart from my frustration of having to call my retired parents to help me out. I know a lot of people are praying for me and I appreciate that.  But when you mention my name, would you please add their names too?  I think weeks like this one add gray hairs to their heads.  I was also joking afterwards that my guardian angels are probably asking God for a vacation from their duties with me.  All kidding aside, I am thankful for God's protection during these two incidents.  Things could have been SO much worse.

After my visit to the floor of the living room Sunday afternoon, I told my mom she wouldn't have to sweep the floor for Christmas.  My clothes were taking care of that as I struggled to get back on my feet.  We laughed and tried not to take ourselves too seriously.

On Christmas Eve I decided that despite the adventures of the day, the Christmas Eve service at church was a good place for me to go.  Why?  Because I can. I am thankful that I was able to do so.  So many others would like to have been there but just simply were unable to get out of bed or for some other reason just couldn't make it.  I said in the car coming home that it just seemed like the right place to be. Not only that, but it was encouraging to be around others who have faced harder times this week, than I have, but decided a Christmas Eve service at our church was also the right place to be.  Why?  Because we can.  And why can we, because of God's grace and the true meaning of Christmas.  It's all about perspective, I suppose.    At the end of the service A little girl sang the following song.  This is not her recording, but I wanted to share a link to a beautiful way of putting Christmas in the right perspective.  Here is the link.
So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

PRAISES:

Safety, and strength for each new day.

Lessons God continues to bring my way about Himself, me, others around me and life in general.

Encouragement from others around me who are also struggling with issues of their own, many bigger than mine, but keep their eyes on the Lord and remind me that it’s not about me, it’s about what my life can do for HIM and what He can do through me.  For those of my friends who have experienced difficulties in the past couple of weeks or so or who share their difficult experiences from the past and continue to show God’s grace in their lives.  Thank you. You are an encouragement to me.

PRAYER REQUESTS:  (Some of these remain the same, but are still relevant/needed.)

Continued strength to manage the physical strain of some of the treatment and exercises to improve mobility.

The electronic stimulation device for my leg mentioned in a previous blog – still waiting for some details to sort out, but we’re getting closer.

Courage to face the unknown and opportunities to show the grace of God through difficult times.

Safety.

Family who are hanging in there with me through this battle.

Wisdom to know my limitations and observe them.

Next round of double chemo started Christmas Day and will continue for 6 weeks.

Next MRI and doctor visit Feb 8.

#52 AN EXPLANATION

When I was challenged to start this blog.  I was a bit nervous about it.  I am not generally a very open and public person.  I do not post things on social media or tell everyone I know what I’m thinking at a particular moment.  People have often commented that they view me as a “private person”.  That would be correct.  So, this blog took me to a whole other level personally.  I said at the very beginning of this blog that I didn’t want this to become a “feel sorry for Debbie” activity. 

I have felt the need to be open and honest about what’s going on, which requires me to share some things I might otherwise keep private.  Yet if I’m going to express to you anything about this journey, it MUST include references to the grace of God through these difficult times and experiences.  I said from the beginning of this journey, I could not handle any of this without His grace.  Yes, this means I must share certain personal details in order to express how grace comes in.  Don’t feel sorry for me or pity me in any way.  Instead celebrate God’s grace and in whatever change in your life you weren’t expecting comes along lean on that grace.

But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. - 1 Corinthians 15:1-10

I commented last time on some of the rudeness of people you meet shopping.  Well, I hate to mention all the bad and not give credit when it’s due.  Yesterday, I was “walking”, yes, not riding in a wheelchair out of a store and as always it was taking a long time.  A lady held the door for me.  I said, “I hope you’re not in a hurry.  This could take a while.”  She said, “Don’t worry.  I’m in no hurry.  People are in too much of a hurry these days and miss so much in life.”  I agreed with her and thanked her for her patience.  My mom has constantly reminded me in life that people need to stop and smell the roses.  Well, I now have plenty of time when walking somewhere to smell the roses or other things I might prefer to ignore.

Now with this Optune device on my head, I have an electric blanket attached to my head.  During Florida summers with hot temperatures and high humidity, it’s not so nice.  But this time of year, when it’s cooler, as it is right now for Florida, the electric blanket is kind of nice.  This morning, I noticed it was extra warm.  My head actually felt hot, like a fever.  It wasn’t that, but my dad mentioned (I like his thinking).  “You know, when that electrical current hits such resistance as a brain the size of yours (because you are so smart), it’s going to produce more heat. Good thinking, Dad.  I like your thought processes.

praises:

More small steps forward with my left leg and arm.  Slow but sure.

God’s continued provision and faithfulness, including, working out issues that have been hanging on for 3 months, unrelated to health matters.

Right now, I am on a short break from the chemo.  That’s a nice break.  The only negative part is that it starts back up again Christmas Day.  Not the Christmas celebration I would have chosen, but Christmas isn’t about me anyway.

PRAYER REQUESTS: (Some of these remain the same, but are still relevant/needed.)

Continued strength to manage the physical strain of some of the treatment and exercises to improve mobility.

The electronic stimulation device for my leg mentioned in a previous blog – still waiting for some details to sort out, but we’re getting closer.

Courage to face the unknown and opportunities to show the grace of God through difficult times.

#51 SPIRITUAL WARFARE

a few thoughts from my heart this week:

Thursday morning, I have to admit I had a bit of a battle within myself.  There is no excuse.  God is great.  He has blessed me beyond measure.  I am, however, human and fail to hold onto faith sometimes.  Thank you, Father for your patience with me.  Which reminds me of:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places – Ephesians 6:12

I really don’t need to worry.  God always keeps His promises.

Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations – Deuteronomy 7:9

As previously promised, here is a picture of the wonderful gift sent to me from the Bible Baptist Church, Makongeni.  Thank you again.  Not pictured here is the tea, that I have already been enjoying.

Sometimes when you’re having a rough day, God will bring something along your path to just make you smile and forget your rough start.  Let me explain:

When you go shopping, you never know what kind of people you are going to meet.  Last week I was at a local grocery store (supermarket) and left my phone in the shopping cart.  When I realized what I had done, we went back and found a lady who had seen it and turned it in as lost.  I thanked her for her honesty.  Yesterday, I was at the same store and now with my mobility issues, I use a motorized cart.  Below is a picture for my friends reading this who may not be familiar with these carts.  They are available in many stores here for customers to use while shopping.  Now back to yesterday, I was going through the store and there was an older lady in one of these carts, as was I.  She saw me coming and hurried to get in front of me.  She wasn’t joking either.  She really cut me off to go down the isle first.  I thought I was back in Nairobi traffic.  I’m not sure what was going through her mind, but she certainly was determined to be first.  I think I might have even laughed out loud once I realized what she was doing.  Maybe she used to be a NASCAR driver or an East African Safari Rally driver. 😊  Either way, God provided an amusing end to a hard day.

praises:

I am amazed at how many people are praying for me.  I was reminded again this past week of a comment I had made a while back.  There are so many people praying around the world and across the USA for me.  I have people praying in so many different time zones that God must hear my name a lot during a 24-hour period.  As well, I am constantly being told from people I don’t even know that their family and/or church in some other location are praying for me.  It’s a truly humbling experience.  I am blessed with friends, family, acquaintances and total strangers who see the value of prayer.

I have been doing some more research on GBMs and read something that may or may not be true.  It is NOTaccording to my doctor.  However, when you cross from monthly scans to scans every two months, that is a bit of a milestone.  Well, my next scan is in 2 months.  I’m going to hang onto the hope that this is a good thing, whatever the reason.

Continued improvements in how I’ve been feeling/strength.

God’s continued provision and faithfulness.

No more trips to Tampa until February, unless something comes up.  That means no scans, no doctor visits, etc.

BECAUSE I CAN MOMENT:

A few days ago, I picked up my left leg and set it into the car first, something I’ve not done in over a year. Small steps, I know.  But still steps in the right direction.

Improved strength.

PRAYER REQUESTS: (These are the same as my last entry, but still remain relevant/needed.)

Continued strength to manage the physical strain of the treatment and exercises to improve mobility

The electronic stimulation device for my leg mentioned in a previous blog – still waiting for some details to sort out, but we’re getting closer.

Courage to face the unknown and opportunities to show the grace of God through difficult times.