Well, it looks like if I'm going to be miraculously healed the time for that miracle is getting shorter.
I just got back from the oncologist's office. He said my bloated belly is fluid buildup rather than fat. The good news is that they can readily fix that, at least temporarily, by draining it, which they'll do on Friday, 26-10-2007. After the draining I should feel a lot more comfortable, and probably look better, too. (Today is Wednesday, 24-10-2007.) And I can help reduce fluid buildup by eating more protein, which just means quitting two days early the "cancer cure" diet I've been on for the last two months, which required that I consume no animal products at all, which obviously cuts out a lot of protein, no matter how many beans I eat.
The bad news is that the fluid buildup probably means that the cancer in my liver is growing agressively again. They'll know more about that on Friday after the ultrasound, which comes before the draining.
So, whether God heals me or not, I'm in his hands and I trust him. But if I had my druthers I'd rather have the miracle. He still can and he still may, so please continue to pray for a miraculous, complete healing of the cancer.
In the meantime, I'll try to continue to do this day what he gives me to do, to reflect to the people around me his love and their worth to him.
God is still God and love is still enough.
24 October 2007
02 October 2007
Koalas and Electric Shock Therapy
How's that for a title?
Okay, first the koalas. They are nocturnal animals and most of the time that they are awake there in the tops of trees. Your only chance of seeing one is during one of those brief times when they climb down from one tree to find a better one. Living in the city, of course, you don't see a lot of wild animals under the best of circumstances. So Kaylah Hearn, age 18, who has lived in Australia for 13 or 14 of those years, has never seen a koala in the wild. Warning signs along the road warn you to be watchful for native animals to avoid making them roadkill, but the fact is, you're very unlikely to ever see a koala in the wild, as far as I can tell.
Kev Crowther, my friend, employer, and brother-in-law of Roland Hearn, who I moved her to plant a church with, has a small acreage on the edge of the developed area of Brisbane, in what has been kind of a semi-rural area that is now being developed. He has a small office building on the acreage as well as his home, and I work in that office. Kangaroos aren't too tough to spot in the area in the right time of day, but in the 18 years he and his family have lived there, they've never seen a koala -- until last week. He, one or two of his kids, and his mother-in-law all saw a koala waddling along from tree to tree, looking for a good one, right there on their property the other day. It was a big event. We were all very excited. And now we know koalas do live in the area, and they saw it at a time of morning that I'm normally at work, so I do have a realistic chance of seeing a live koala in the wild at some point.
Now to the electric shock therapy. One of the weird side effects of chemo is numbness and tingling in one's fingers and toes. Mine started doing that some time before chemo ended, and the doctor said it can take as long as six months for that to go away. For some people it doesn't even start until shortly after chemo ends. Mine seemed to get a little worse after chemo ended. Most of the time it's just mild numbness, but every once in a while you get a brief moment of actual tinglinng that takes you by surprise and even feels briefly like a very mild electric shock.
This past Sunday, Karen and I visited a nearby church. After the service she was visiting with someone she knew from work and I walked over to her. As soon as I reached her and stood still, my feet started tingling so much that I actually asked her if the floor was vibrating in that spot. The sensation went away shortly, but it's just very, very weird.
Life these days is just one novel experience after another.
For my one actual bit of news, I'll be home for Christmas, although Karen and Jake won't be able to come. I'll be there for about a month, so I should have time to enjoy all the relatives and friends. It'll be good.
Okay, first the koalas. They are nocturnal animals and most of the time that they are awake there in the tops of trees. Your only chance of seeing one is during one of those brief times when they climb down from one tree to find a better one. Living in the city, of course, you don't see a lot of wild animals under the best of circumstances. So Kaylah Hearn, age 18, who has lived in Australia for 13 or 14 of those years, has never seen a koala in the wild. Warning signs along the road warn you to be watchful for native animals to avoid making them roadkill, but the fact is, you're very unlikely to ever see a koala in the wild, as far as I can tell.
Kev Crowther, my friend, employer, and brother-in-law of Roland Hearn, who I moved her to plant a church with, has a small acreage on the edge of the developed area of Brisbane, in what has been kind of a semi-rural area that is now being developed. He has a small office building on the acreage as well as his home, and I work in that office. Kangaroos aren't too tough to spot in the area in the right time of day, but in the 18 years he and his family have lived there, they've never seen a koala -- until last week. He, one or two of his kids, and his mother-in-law all saw a koala waddling along from tree to tree, looking for a good one, right there on their property the other day. It was a big event. We were all very excited. And now we know koalas do live in the area, and they saw it at a time of morning that I'm normally at work, so I do have a realistic chance of seeing a live koala in the wild at some point.
Now to the electric shock therapy. One of the weird side effects of chemo is numbness and tingling in one's fingers and toes. Mine started doing that some time before chemo ended, and the doctor said it can take as long as six months for that to go away. For some people it doesn't even start until shortly after chemo ends. Mine seemed to get a little worse after chemo ended. Most of the time it's just mild numbness, but every once in a while you get a brief moment of actual tinglinng that takes you by surprise and even feels briefly like a very mild electric shock.
This past Sunday, Karen and I visited a nearby church. After the service she was visiting with someone she knew from work and I walked over to her. As soon as I reached her and stood still, my feet started tingling so much that I actually asked her if the floor was vibrating in that spot. The sensation went away shortly, but it's just very, very weird.
Life these days is just one novel experience after another.
For my one actual bit of news, I'll be home for Christmas, although Karen and Jake won't be able to come. I'll be there for about a month, so I should have time to enjoy all the relatives and friends. It'll be good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
