Wednesday (4/25/2018):

Update:

As kids, we often imagine what we will be when we grow up.  Will I be a police officer, a solder, or a firefighter? And we might also imagine who we will marry and what our life will be like as we grow older.  How many kids will I have?  Where will I live?  But in all of my thinking about the future, I never once dreamed that I would become an amputee.

Up until my below-the-knee amputation in December 2013, I rarely went to the doctors.  Now in the last four and a half years, I’ve been in the hospital for 26 days and have had 378 medical appointments of various types (yes, I’ve kept count of them). That’s an average of one appointment every four days!  Wow!  Hospitalized with sepsis, it affected my body on a number of levels besides the amputation.  I have a number of on-going issues with my eyes.  I’ve have heart issues, kidney issues, nerve issues, etc., besides the “normal” amputee issues with prosthetic legs and residual limbs.

Yep!  My life has not ended up exactly as I had imagined!  Honestly, some days are harder than others.  Some days I’m more apathetic and less optimistic.  It seems like I’m making good forward progress and then hit a series of speed bumps and road blocks, bringing my journey to a grinding halt.  Some days I am definitely in stop and go traffic on the highway of life.  And yet, life is still good!  For all the changes that have happened, I still enjoy life.  I’ve got a supportive wife, a loving family, and good friends.  With some limitations, I’m still able to get out and do some of the things that I enjoy. 

One of the most difficult things for me has been the uncertainty.  It’s hard to make plans because a problem develops that cancels everything.  I just never quite know what tomorrow, or next week, or next month, will bring.

Thought for the Day:

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." (2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV)

Life can be very discouraging if all we do is focus upon the physical.  Illness, accidents, and aging all have their effect upon us.  If it hasn’t happened to you yet, it probably will someday.  And what can we do about it?  We can eat well, exercise, and make healthy lifestyle choices; but eventually it will catch up to us.  And then we have to adapt to our “new normal.”   While fighting to maintain whatever we can for as long as we can, eventually we have to accept and embrace our new reality.  That can be a mental bummer and very discouraging.  So how can we fight this downward mental spiral?  We work at renewing our mind.  We have to find and do things that energize us and give us a sense of purpose.

For me I’ve found that starts with my faith in God.  Bible reading and prayer are foundational to not letting life drag me down.  Reading other good inspirational material helps too!  Find a way to serve others.  Purposefully be involved in the lives of others.  Do things that recharge your spiritual and emotional batteries.

Don’t allow life to wear you down without a fight!  Do what you can do to be renewed!