Saturday (12/27/2014)

Update:

I received an initial report concerning my MRI on my left knee.  I have a slight fray in my ACL and there was a “signal change” in my meniscus.  As I understand it, the signal change indicates that something is not right; however, there is no tear in the meniscus.  So although my knee is damaged, nothing disastrous was found.  I was told that my rehab doctor would consult with my prosthetist and come up with a treatment plan.  From what I have read on-line, I’m guessing that it will involve some physical therapy and possibly some changes in my prosthesis.  I don’t really know.  I am confident that at this point there is no surgery will be suggested.  Meanwhile, since I wasn’t told otherwise, I continue on with my daily routine as much as possible.

Usually by about 5 p.m. my leg hurts enough that I take my prosthesis off for the rest of the evening.   I think some of the pain I am experiencing is from the nerves that run along the fibula.  At the very bottom edge, I can sense some tingling when I touch it.  At times, touching it also sends an electrical shock along the rest of the leading edge of my stump.  Those little shocks are not so bad all alone; but cumulatively they begin to add up so that by the late afternoon; they start to overwhelm my ability to ignore them. 

I am still able to do most things that I want to do.  I just can’t do them for very long or go all day from one thing to another.  I have definite limits that stop me from continuing.  It is frustrating to know that I used to be able to keep going all day and into the evening; and now I am limited to a few hours of activities and then I’m done.  If we can get the pain issue under better control, I could do a whole lot more.  Right now that pain robs me of the motivation and energy to keep going as long as I used to do.  So while things aren’t bad, they certainly are not the way they should be.

Here’s a link to a video of me getting firewood into my house: 

Thought for the Day:

I just started reading Warren Wiersbe’s book, “The Bumps Are What You Climb On.”  The title comes from an account of a brother and sister climbing a mountain path.  The sister complains that the way is rough and it really isn’t even a path, “It’s all rocky and bumpy.”  The brother responds that “the bumps are what you climb on.”

Wiersbe says that “The trouble with most of us is that we are accustomed to paved roads and level sidewalks.  But life is not made that way.  Sometimes the road is level and easy, and the birds are singing and the way is wonderful. But sometimes the road is rocky and bumpy, and we hear no music and feel no helping hand.  Then what?  Complain?  Give up?  No, that’s the time to remember God’s promise.”  [Warren Wiersbe, “The Bumps are What You Climb On”]

Psalm 91:11-12   “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

God doesn’t promise us a smooth and easy path.  But He will send help to enable us to keep on climbing.  If you look at the biography of any great person in the bible, their life was filled with trouble, turmoil, and difficulty.  And yet they rose above the circumstances they faced, overcoming incredible odds.  The bumps that they encountered helped to shape them into the people God could use.

“But there are rocks and bumps even on the paths of God’s choosing, and we have to learn to accept them and benefit from them.  The bumps are what you climb on…  The secret to climbing higher is to look away from yourself and your difficulties, and look by faith to Jesus Christ.” [Warren Wiersbe, “The Bumps are What You Climb On”]

Psalm 91:15   “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.”

Whatever your path, it is not intended to destroy you.  Instead, it will be used to strengthen you, to show you that you have more within you than you imagined, and to cause you to draw closer to God when you are at the end of your strength and resources.  Nobody likes the bumps; but don’t forget they have a purpose.