Update:
My prosthetist contacted me on Wednesday night and agreed that on
Thursday morning, my prosthesis most probably fit fine again (the stump shrinks
throughout the day with the pressure put on it while in the prosthesis;
overnight the leg regains some of its volume).
She wanted me to go about my normal day and see what would happen. It has been a bit unnerving going about my
business waiting for the pain to hit again.
I wanted to go for a walk earlier in the day but decided that I should
wait until my wife got home so I would have someone to come rescue me if I got
stranded away from home.
Thursday morning I went for a motorcycle ride with a friend. We had planned to do it on Monday but we got
rained out. We ended up covering just
over 50 miles wandering the back roads.
I still need to knock off some of the rust from my riding skills but I
am getting more comfortable on the cycle with my prosthesis. We ended up eating lunch at a Subway on the
way back home. It was a beautiful day
for a ride.
I weighed in on Thursday afternoon and I lost another 4.6 pounds this
week; so my total loss is 11.4 pounds. I
have to tighten my belt 2 or 3 extra notches—so my plan is working! All I have to do is keep working my
plan. Right now I am feeling good and
see no difficulty in continuing what I’ve been doing.
I took my walk up and down the street after dinner. I made it the entire way without a problem
with pain in my leg. I did a 60-minute
workout that really wore me out. I
decided to cool down after the workout by walking my street again. I got about 20 yards down the street and my
leg began hurting with every step I took.
I called Karen and she brought the wheelchair to get me home. She laughed because I wasn’t even out the
door two minutes when I had to call for a tow truck.
So I emailed my prosthetist with the news; now I wait to see how she
wants to proceed.
Interestingly, on Wednesday night when I first experienced the pain, it
really knocked me back emotionally for the evening. As I predicted, by Thursday morning I was
back on top emotionally. On Thursday night
when I experienced the same kind of pain, I’ve got a “business as usual”
attitude about it. How quickly we adjust
to a new situation! What really concerns
me is planning around the next flare up.
If it keeps happening only later at night, I can do a Cinderella thing
and get home before my pumpkin time.
However, if it starts happening at other times, I could be caught out
somewhere away from my wheelchair and be stranded. I really hope we find a solution to this new
problem soon! I am amazed what a
difference losing a few pounds makes in a leg that seemed like it had no fat on
it in the first place.
Thought for the Day:
Do you remember the bible account of David and Goliath? Goliath stood over nine feet tall and was the
champion for the Philistine army which was arrayed against the army of
Israel. Every morning and every evening
for forty days, Goliath issued a challenge the he would do battle against any
champion that Israel sent out. It was a “winner
take all” kind of contest.
1 Samuel 17: 8a-10 “Choose one man to come down here and fight
me! If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be
our slaves! I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man
who will fight me!”
Goliath was a seasoned
warrior; Israel’s soldiers quaked in fear because they didn’t stand a chance
against him. So no one stepped forward
and accepted his challenge; until David came along. David was a teenager who tended his father’s
sheep. His father asked him to take food
and provision to his older brothers who were serving in the army. He heard the challenge and was indignant. David wasn’t looking at how big or strong
Goliath was. He didn’t care how many
years he had been a soldier, how many battles that he had fought or how many
men he had killed. David wasn’t paying
attention to Goliath. David was focused
upon God. Goliath defied and David was
not about to let the challenge go unheeded.
When you think about it,
from a physical standpoint it was a stupid move by David. Goliath was a full grown man who was battle
hardened. David was a teenager who tended
sheep. Goliath had probably killed
scores of men; David had never taken a human life. But even as a shepherd, David had grown close
to the Lord and had overcome danger before with God’s help. David had killed bear and lion when they
attempted to steal his sheep. David knew
that true strength did not lie in a sword or shield or spear. True might came from the Lord, the maker of
heaven and earth.
So David became the
unlikely champion of the people of Israel.
A young man, inexperienced in the ways of war but closely connected and
heavily relying upon the Lord God Almighty.
Goliath ridiculed David as he approached; and David joined the battle in
a very unconventional manner—with a sling and five stones. David’s first shot dropped Goliath in his
tracks and David used Goliath’s own sword to finish the job. David’s act allowed Israel to win the battle
against their enemy.
When I think about all
those on the sidelines watching, I cannot help but think of King Saul. He was described as a mighty man of
valor. He wasn’t as big as Goliath, but
he was a head taller than his men. He
should have been Israel’s champion; but he stayed in the camp and watched a boy
easily destroy his challenger. Of all
the people who could have come forth to battle Goliath, physically David was
the most unlikely candidate.
And yet the unequal
contest was very fitting. For David
declared that he fought Goliath in the Lord’s power and that the battle
belonged to the Lord. There was no way that David in his abilities
could have bested the giant; therefore it would be apparent to everyone that
God had indeed entered the battle that day and given the victory.
1 Samuel 17:45-46 “David
replied to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but
I come to you in the name of the LORD of Heaven's Armies -- the God of the
armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the LORD will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head.
And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals,
and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!’”
Taking a devotional application from this passage, I have to ask:
What are the Giants that You Face in Your Life?
What looks too large for you to handle?
What obstacles are blocking your path?
What is causing you to shiver in your boots in fear? What has you admitting defeat before you even
have tried to battle?
Take a moment and stop looking at your Giant and turn your focus and look
upon your God. In comparison to God,
nothing that you face amounts to anything.
If God is willing, there is nothing that He cannot remove or
destroy. Nothing is too big for Him to
handle.
So quit looking at your giant and look to your God!
Turn your fears and the giants in your life over to Him. They may be too big for you to handle on your
own—but nothing is too large if God is with you. Whatever you face, God will see you
through.
Luke 18:27 “Jesus replied, ‘What is
impossible for people is possible with God.’”
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