"Welcome to my blog space. I believe that God has carefully placed gems in our paths to fill our days with joy. The challenge for us is to take the time to notice them. My desire is to share the gems in my life so that, hopefully, you will see the ones He's placed in yours. I hope what you read here will be worth your time and you'll want to return often." - Cathy

Saturday, May 10, 2014

The Report of My Death was Exaggerated!


“The report of my death was exaggerated.”
Mark Twain


Some of the medications
and paperwork
            Several of my readers have asked if some horrendous catastrophe has befallen me since I haven’t blogged in 2014. The answer is yes, and no. The whole month of February was dedicated to fighting a huge kidney stone that managed to move itself out of my kidney just enough to keep my kidney from functioning. It all began on February 2nd and, after two surgeries, two runs of antibiotics, weekly doctor visits, much pain and discomfort, I had my last procedure on February 28th. It took me almost three weeks after that to regain my strength. I’m learning the body was made for activity, not lying around for an extended period. The human body creates energy by expending energy.

            I felt privileged when I was asked late last year to be part of the Leadership Team for the 2014 Write2Ignite! Conference for writers of Christian literature for children and young adults. I signed on to produce the Resource Manual which would be given to each
attendee. My deadline was February 25th with most of the information not available until late January. I missed the deadline due to kidney month festivities. All transactions were handled electronically so, working as I was able, I did get everything submitted in March in time for the draft to be edited, returned to me for revisions, and sent to the printers so we could have them ready by conference time.        

Most of what I’ve described doesn’t seem to go with my blog/life theme, Joyful Journey, but as I consider it I can find joy to spare from this experience:

1)    It gives me joy bubbling up and brimming over to see all the tiny details God arranged so that I could get the care I needed. Last year I met Jane, a doctor, at the women’s Bible study I attend. This year I became part of the leadership team for Community Bible Study and she became my shepherd. When she made her shepherding call the day after I’d been to the ER, I told her about my stone. She used her influence to get me into a urologist’s office the next day. There’s no telling how much worse my condition would have gotten without her intervention. God started this process at least as far back as the birth of this little girl who became a compassionate doctor. Another quirky note in the story is that Jane’s husband and our new urologist grew up in the same town.

2)    For the previous four years since my forced retirement, I haven’t had any health insurance. In January, I was eligible for Medicare. The costs for my February care added up to tens of thousands of dollars. With Medicare, I only paid about $2,000 of that. I am so thankful for God’s provision, not just in this experience, but over the last four years as well.

3)    The urologist I had seen for years moved out of town to be closer to aging relatives. He had a partner who had seen my husband but I couldn’t imagine being his patient. I started dreading that as soon as I realized I had a kidney stone. God provided again when I found out we had a new urologist in town. The new doctor was everything I needed in this situation-compassionate, efficient and the appropriate amount of urgency and reassurance. His staff was wonderful, too.

The premise of this blog is that God drops gems of joy along our daily paths. It’s our job to recognize them, appropriate them and share them with others.

Going out with joy today. I hope you will, too!

Cathy

7 comments:

  1. God provided for you. It is'n' always easy to get into a specialist where we live. Medicare is good. If I didn't have it I would be in a dire straight right now. I had to undergo therapy in late February and March. I just go the final statement from the Health Network. The out of pocket fees could have been a whole lot worse than they are.

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    1. Sounds like God has provided for you, too. So glad we serve a God who is abundantly faithful. Blessings to you, my Friend!

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  2. Cathy, I didn't know your kidney stone came with so many complications - just that you couldn't make Boot Camp. My husband had complications too. His stone adhered to the ureter and had tissue growing to it. He had extensive surgery and is finally doing better. Has a final ultrasound in June. I hope you're on the mends too. God's got lots of things for you to do, girlfriend :)

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    1. Thanks for the encouragement, dear Nan! I am thrilled to be able to say, "I feel good." I'm hoping this was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, but if it's not, God will see me through again. Glad Dave is feeling better.

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  3. Welcome home Cathy. Sure have missed you here. Happy to be connecting but even more that you are healing. Praise God for His touches....as He touched our lives with you. I love ya my dear friend.

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  4. Thanks, Mary! You are such a blessing. I'm thankful God allowed our paths to cross.

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  5. I'm glad you're feeling better, Cathy. I didn't realize how extensive your illness was and I'm praying it was a "once in a lifetime" event.
    I'm also glad you're on our W2I Leadership Team. You are a blessing to us all!

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