Update:
On Monday, the rain stopped just in time for me to load myself into my
truck to get to my appointment without getting wet. My primary physician was very pleased with my
progress so far. So pleased in fact that
he didn’t even schedule another appointment for me to come back in a few
months—just a word to contact him if something comes up. I was sent to the lab for some blood and
urine samples. If everything comes back
alright (and we suspect that it will) then I’m good for another six months
until the next blood work needs to be done.
That is encouraging news!
Karen and I got the shopping done and loaded our personal groceries
into my truck for me to take home and she went back to the theatre. I faced the challenge of getting the
groceries inside by myself while I’m in the wheelchair. I loaded my wheelchair up pretty heavily with
groceries and had to take four trips up the ramp to get everything in. My arms were tired after pulling myself up
the ramp four times! I was glad to get
everything put away and have some time to relax. The one trip up the ramp that I was most
worried about was balancing the box of eggs from Sam’s Club on my lap as I
wheeled myself up the ramp. I was
worried about the box slipping off and creating a reenactment of Humpy-Dumpty. Despite my concern, the eggs arrived safely
inside. All the other groceries, I put
in bags and hung them from the handles of the wheelchair. It worked well but the bags were heavy enough
that going up the ramp, I had to lean far forward to keep from rocking
backwards because of the center of balance being changed.
I emailed my prosthetist with some questions about using my prosthesis
again. How healed does my leg need to be
to start wearing my prosthetic leg again?
My leg is slightly larger in the calf area since I haven’t been wearing
my leg each day, so how do I get it to fit back inside my prosthesis? This is all new territory for me, so I am
getting a little “on-the-job training.”
Oh, the things that I never imagined that you needed to know! I just scheduled an appointment with my
prosthetist on Thursday morning to help answer my questions. Nice!
This morning I saw a photo of a little 2-3 year old girl with a
prosthetic leg playing on the beach. I
thought, “Wow! I wonder how many different sized legs she’ll need as she grows
up?” I struggle trying to explain to my
prosthetist what I am experiencing at times, how does it work if the patient is
a little kid? Once again I am reminded
that the challenges that I face are rather small and relatively inconsequential
in comparison.
I ended the day by talking to my daughter, Ruth, on the phone. She and her husband will be home for the
weekend. I look forward to seeing her
again.
Thought for the Day:
One of the books I am currently reading is “When God Winks At You” by
Squire Rushnell. The book is subtitled, “How
God speaks directly to you through the power of coincidence.” I’m not entirely sold on the book but the
author raises some valid points. In his
chapter on unanswered prayer, Rushnell states that God uses unanswered prayer
and the coincidences that happen after that to change our direction or to give
us something better than we prayed for.
His premise is that we shouldn’t be upset or discouraged when our
prayers aren’t answered because God is working behind the scenes to give us
something we haven’t thought of or never dreamed would happen.
If we are emotionally disturbed by not getting what we want, we might
entirely miss what God had in store for us instead. Rushnell quotes John Wooden, an unparalleled
successful college basketball coach, as saying “Things turn out best for the
people who make the best of the way things turn out.”
The thing about coincidence is that we don’t often see what is
happening and how things have turned out for the best until we have the clarity
of hindsight. We may stare discouragement,
disappointment, or heartbreak in the face as we are traveling through the
experience. It isn’t until later
(sometimes much later) that we find out that it really was all going to work
out for out good in the end.
I’ve stated it before and I still believe it that on this side of my
hospitalization and amputation that wouldn’t go back to having two whole legs
if it meant giving up what I’ve gained through the process. What I have gained from this life-changing
event is well worth the cost I paid. I
had four things that I had been praying for quite some time that I didn’t see
how they could ever be answered without God doing a miracle. All God had to do was to take my leg and
those four prayers were answered.
Certainly not in the fashion I had prayed for; but by a surprising
unexpected twist of fate.
So let’s not get too bent out of shape because things are not
progressing the way we envisioned them.
Let’s not lose hope or despair over an apparent lack of success; better
days might just be right around the corner.
Without some of the setbacks that we have faced, we wouldn’t be in a
position to take advantage of the opportunities about to come our way.
For believers, we aren’t relying upon the fickle finger of fate; we are
trusting in the strong arm of our loving Heavenly Father. Be at
peace. Maintain your hope and trust in
Him at all times no matter how bleak things might currently seem.
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