“I should listen to my wife more,” said every married man worth his salt, including this guy. My back has been badly hurting for two days and she’s been trying to get me to go the chiropractor since yesterday, going as far as to remind me how stubborn I am. I finally relented and went this morning. Although it wasn’t instant relief, I’m already feeling much better. I gave her a chance to say “I told you so.” True to her character, she passed it up, but there was a twinkle of vindication in her beautiful eyes.
Pick Your Poison
Beginning Tuesday night I started feeling really bad. Just. Plain. Awful. Nausea mainly. I went to Lexington for a previously-scheduled CT scan of my lungs and blood work on Wednesday. It was a rough morning. I had a low-grade fever, which automatically sends alarms bells for an immune-compromised cancer fighter. Thankfully, the nurses allowed me to leave with a strict admonition to monitor it closely. I rested all day and by that afternoon, praise the Lord, my temperature was normal.
As I rested, of course, my eye began to hurt. It felt similar to the viral infection I had last month. Again—alarm bells. I treated it the best way I knew how and by morning it was fine.
Since my eye stopped hurting, my back took its place. I started doing some light exercises a couple weeks ago using a resistance band. Apparently they weren’t light enough. I woke up yesterday with a very painful strained muscle that strictly limited my movement and breathing. When another muscle started hurting today, I finally did what I should have done to start with and listened to my wise helpmeet.
It really is striking how pain and discomfort can affect one’s outlook. I had a very productive day at work on Tuesday, and left excited about the future. But by Wednesday morning that excitement had waned and I was just looking for relief.
By and large, I’ve found it. Thanks to the prayers of many, I’m felling better overall. My back is still very sore and there is still much healing to be done in my body, but, Lord willing, I’m headed in the right direction.
Milestone
To say that everything has turned out as predicted is beyond laughable. I certainly didn’t think I’d be dealing with some of the problems I’ve had, especially after being in such relatively good health when we left Houston in May.
The one-year mark post-transplant is a major milestone. Not only do your medical odds for survival increase, but my body and new immune system being to form a state of tolerance, thereby reducing graft-versus-host disease. I can’t really say whether I’m experiencing that yet or not, especially since I’m still dealing with a skin rash and bad eyes.
It’s been harder to believe and remain hopeful some days. The amazing thing is that His grace, power, and love are not contingent on how I feel whatsoever. His truth depends nothing on how I feel about it. Knowing that allows me to press on inspite of myself.
Hello Jeff,
I just discovered your blog today. I will keep you in my prayers. You have a very nice blog. God bless you, and warm greetings from Montreal, Canada.