Blessings and curses of pain killers!

After having surgery you are sent home with a folder of instructions and definately a prescription or two to fill on your way home or that becomes your spouse's task after you are situated somewhat comfortably in bed or your favorite recliner. For me it was only one script for tramadol, (Ultram), a synthetic narcotic pain reliever.  In the past I have had trouble with narcotics. My stomach does not tolerate meds very well and especially narcotics! Supposedly tramadol was a good alternative, I was told at the hospital. I could use Tylenol in between doses of the prescription. 

For the next three days I felt good and couldn't understand why others complained about knee pain when doing home exercise because I had none. I was even becoming so "cocky" that I contemplated not using a walker. Blessings of narcotics: really does take away the pain!

By Friday afternoon the nausea starts to set in and by mid-day Saturday I am feeling worse than after the surgery. It is time to get off the so called "fake" narcotic but was never told there could be withdrawal symptoms. Guess what? Saturday night and into Sunday morning were hours of nausea and other digestive distresses. It wasn't until mid-day Sunday that my body was able to tolerate food.

Thankfully that was over but without the drug I experienced a new level of pain in the knee! 

Curses of narcotics: poisons the body!

Tomorrow I begin physical therapy and know it will be painful without the prescribed narcotic BUT I will "tough" it out rather than go through the detox again!

Everyone reacts differently to medication but I choose pain over nausea any day!

I am using Romans 12:12 as my verse to meditate on tomorrow:

"Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer."

Love this quote by Lloyd John Ogilvie:

"Sometimes The Lord rides out the storm with us and other times He calms the restless sea around us. Most of all, He calms the storm inside us in our deepest inner soul."

I will be praying He calms the restless sea of physical therapy tomorrow!

At home...

During surgery recovery at home there is:

A time to bleed and a time to heal,

A time to rest and a time to exercise,

A time to take meds and a time to "gut it out",

A time to eat and a time to drink,

A time to watch TV and a time to read,

A time to reflect and a time to act,

A time to call friends and a time to sit quietly waiting for the Lord's whisper,

A time to move slowly and a time to pick up the "walker" speed,

A time to be patient and a time to "forge" ahead,

A time to sing hymns and a time to pray,

A time to be awake and a time to nap.

Yes, during recovery there is time for God's plans to "play" out in your life for His glory!

The surgery and hospital stay

"Blessed is the man who trusts in The Lord, and whose hope is The Lord. for he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes, but her leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of the drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit." Jeremiah 17:718

Surgery went well with only a partial knee replacement performed, resulting in a shorter rehab time, hopefully. The doctors, nurses, and other staff at the hospital were not only highly skilled but extremely friendly and helpful. I was blessed as I interacted with them. God spoke through me as I talked about prayer and blessings! He showed me how to trust him more and be less fearful and anxious through this hospital experience. Physical therapy is unpleasant but necessary and I had a brief setback with extra bleeding requiring another stitch but still going home later today.

I know my journey will not always be easy, as I continue PT, but I am encouraged to forge ahead and be amazed at what The Lord is doing all along the way!

He has even brought me a bit of sunshine into my hospital room with flowers from my children-what a special treat!

"'Twas the night before surgery..."

Twas the night before surgery, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even my spouse;

The suitcase was packed, resting by the front door

Alarm clock was set, shoes and socks on the floor. 

The husband was nestled all snug in his bed,

While visions of scalpels danced in my head;

And papa in boxers and I in my tee,

Had just kissed goodnight; hearing he loved me.

When into my mind arose such a clatter,

An onslaught of fears, could I be sadder?

Away to the Bible I flew like a flash,

Stumbling in darkness as I made a quick dash.

Tumbling into my favorite chair,

Waking my adorable, sleeping bear,

The snoring soon stopped and eyes opened wide,

As I innocently smiled not trying to hide.

He turned slowly over as I reached for “my” book,

Knowing I needed a long, quiet look,

The night lights dimmed as I began to search,

Where do I go? What comes first?

Now Psalms, now Proverbs, now Gospels I read,

On Philippians, on Romans, on Isaiah I feed,

To the end of the chapter, to the end of the verse!

Anxiety still there, but not any worse!

And then in a twinkling I heard from above,

A whisper of comfort, a whisper of love.

His peace surrounded me head to toe.

Jesus was present, this I know!

Words from the pages now becoming most real,

"The Lord goes before you, ready to heal.

Be strong and take courage, do not fear,

Your cries have reached my eternal ear.”

“Your Word is a lamp unto my feet,

A light to my path…oh so sweet!”

The joy of the Lord comforts my mind,

Now I can rest and sleep I’ll soon find.

So I crawled back to bed and enjoyed a brief rest,

Secure in the knowledge that Jesus knows best,

He’ll guide and protect; His plans are just right,

Surgery’s coming but I’m IN His sight!!

My "joint" class, Muncie, Moments at soccer

My "joint" class:

Surgery is fast approaching and this week was yet another reminder as I attended a suggested Joint Class at Ortho Indianapolis Hospital. The facilitator was a nurse who herself had experienced knee replacement surgery, which made her comments and suggestions credible! There were several apprehensive "students" who found some level of relief as she explained the procedures we were all to face and the aftermath of recovery. For me, just the tour of the orthopaedic hospital, with its state of the art equipment, friendly staff, and walls of windows letting in rays of warm sunshine revealing a clean and well managed environment gave me hope that this total experience would be "doable" and in fact maybe even good. I now have lists, (which I love), of what to bring to the hospital, people to contact ahead, items I yet need to purchase, and things to accomplish before June 16th. In other words, I feel organized, which for me is a huge factor in calming anxious thoughts. I have also chosen four Bible verses to meditate on during the hospital "event".

Deuteronomy 31:8 (The Lord goes before me and will never leave me!)

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.

Isaiah 41:10 (He will give me strength and help me!)

Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

John 14:27 (He will give me peace!)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.

Joshua 1:9 (He is with me, wherever I go-even into the hospital!)

Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, do not be dismayed, for The Lord your God is with you wherever you go. 

Muncie:

Yesterday Hunter and I took a bike ride on a lovely trail called the Cardinal Greenway, which is a part of the National Rail to Trail network, meaning it was an old train bed. The section we rode connects Muncie, Indiana to Richmond, a 45 mile stretch. We did not ride the entire section, only doing 30 miles total but it was a fun ride which we plan to do again when my knee can handle longer distances. 

Moments at soccer:

Thought you would enjoy these delightful photos:

May God bless you with "delightful" moments today!

Surgery "Saga"

After years and years of "postponing" the inevitable I have a surgery date of June 16th for knee, or partial knee, replacement. One day I am happy about it because the pain definitely limits my activity level. On another day I'm fearful of the process, especially the aftermath of pain, since I can not take narcotic medications! Yet on another day I can identify my feelings as simply a case of "nervousness". On those days my hands tremor more violently than usual. On the day of surgery I'll need to wear a straight jacket to remain still enough to sedate! 

I saw my anesthesia doctor this week who said, after I shared with him my PD tremors, that not to worry, "All the ladies tremor when he's around!" Love his sense of humor and feel confident in his ability to keep me "asleep" for the necessary time and appreciate his concern for prescribing me pain meds that will not cause me extreme nausea!

God has led me to a place of high quality medical care with caring and competent doctors and for this I give Him praise! I am reminded of the verse in Deuteronomy 31:8 which says:

"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you, He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged."

Also the verse in Philippians 4:19

"My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

He know my needs and He knows your needs today. Give them all over to the one who can actually to something about them!!

A Better Perspective

A frequent flyer's advice: avoid the JFK airport in your travels like you'd a car crash, a rotten tooth, or as the cliche goes-the plague!

It's dirty!

It's crowded!

It's confusing!

It's "time-saving"  new procedures border on asinine & ridiculous!

It's directional signs are non-existent!

It's airtrain system archaic!

It's plane maintenance system poor with little to no passenger communication!

It's restrooms unkept!

I could go on but I think you "get the picture". 

Ater a long overseas flight from Venice I arrived at JFK airport around 4:00 p.m. (US time, 11:00 p.m. Italian time).; tired as usual but ready for the customs regime and locating my connecting flight.

What I found was an hour and 1/2 herded in long lines through a new and "more efficient" check-in system, with NO restroom access!

Following that torture was riding an airtrain system for 30 minutes the WRONG way until I finally located the train's schedule.

Getting off the airtrain I found terminal 2, which was the location of my gate, could be accessed only through a torrential downpour, since construction was not done on any connecting building. I then ran through 6 inch deep puddles resulting in soaked feet!

Arriving at my gate I discovered an hour delay. OK, that was normal. After boarding the plane I dozed in and out of light sleep as I waited for take off. After 2 1/2 hours sitting on the tarmack the flight was canceled sighting engine problems!

My body clock now was registering 5:00 a.m. Somewhere I had lost a day! Like sheep, we were then led to a help desk where we waited our turn to locate another flight to our final destinations. Mine was not until the next late afternoon so I was given a hotel voucher and directed to the exit door, where I could find a taxi in the torrential downpour! I was told my checked bag would be forwarded to my flight the following day. For some strange reason I failed to trust their reassurance that I would eventually see that bag!

A half an hour later I was again in a long line, this time at the hotel waiting for room availability. By this time I felt like the "walking dead" and had trouble focusing on answering questions when it was my turn to register. Finally, at 1:00 am US time and 8:00 am Italian time I wearily claimed a room, a hot bath, and clean sheets, ( I think or who even cares)!

Now, sitting and reflecting on this experience, I am wondering how, as a Christian, could I view this two/three day journey to get home in a better "light".

Were there blessings I could attribute to God.? Yes!

1. I was able to make it to a restroom after the 1 1/2 hour custom lines!

2. I had a long layover allowing me the necessary time to ride the airtrain the wrong way!

3. My arthritic knee held out well through miles of walking.

4. Last minute decision to take my rain/wind jacket along, which I desperately needed several times!

5. Kind assistant who rebooked my flight and gave me careful instructions about locating a taxi.

6. A stranger who helped me hail a taxi.

7. A hotel room with a Hot Bath, (a real luxury I love)

8. Restful night's sleep.

9. Time to read a good Christian novel about Job, of all people. (Now THAT guy had troubles!)

10. A loving husband always available by phone to be a listening ear and jolly on the spot for pick-up!

11. My luggage arrived on an earlier flight, ahead of me and was just waiting for me to arrive and pick it up!!

Notice my blessings are a longer list than my troubles. Isn't that God's way? I now feel so much better about my return trip and have learned a valuable lesson. God provides more than we can imagine if we will just open our eyes to His blessings and give Him the credit He deserves! That brings to mind the following verse:

"Do everything without complaining  or arguing so that no one can criticize you,

Live clean innocent lives as children of God, shining like stars in the universe,

In this crooked and perverse generation, holding firm to the Word of God."

Philippians 2: 14-16

So next time you have the "opportunity" to fly through JFK on your travels remember God may have some real blessings in store for you!