Saturday, November 15, 2008

Thankfulness

Well, Hallelujah.

Everything went great with my treatment, the needles barely hurt at all, we got there early and got out early, treatment ran smooth, and my neuro stopped up to see me. Everyone was like, Oh you look SO much better. I was like, yah, I'm not turning into a giraffe anymore. (Although a little extra height wouldn't have been bad...I could do without the spots).

So the neuro said I could cut down my prednisone time level and get off it in 4 weeks instead of 8. THAT, my friends, is wonderful news. Predisone is like a cure and poison all in one.

Hopefully now my eyes will get back to "normal" and we can get on with this thing called living. I was asking my neuro about why the eyes are so difficult to maintain control of in MG, and he basically said because they have to work PERFECTLY in order to see right. If your neck or shoulders are weak, or off by 10%, no biggie....you probably wouldn't even notice. But if your EYES are off even 2%, you'll see double. I was like, well, I guess that makes sense. The way the muscles work in the eyes are unlike any other set of muscles in the body as well.

Made me just think again at how much we take for granted. Before I got sick, I took advantage of every breath I took. I just assumed there'd be another following it. I never in a million years though how grateful I was that my arms didn't get weak when I folded laundry. Or that I didn't choke when I swallowed, or that I could work full time. While I appreciated my eyesight, I never really thought about the complexity in which God created it to work.

Made me also think of having a healthy baby. There are so many MILLIONS of things that have to go EXACTLY right to have a healthy, "normal" baby, and yet this happens thousands of times a day around the world.

For many of us, I fear, myself included, we assume so much. Until something "bad" happens, until the health isn't there, or the job, or the friend, or the sister, or the parent...until we lose something, we often don't appreciate it nearly enough.

Well, for the record, I am SO thankful for my eyes. I am SO thankful that I can see and hear, and walk. I'm so thankful that I have friends who love me. That I have an amazing husband and perfect little boy who both enjoy terrific health. I am thankful for medical technology that has saved my life over the last 8 years. I am thankful for skilled surgeons and people who invented more comfortable trachs so I can breathe better, and not have to be stuck in bed on a ventilator.

Most of all I am thankful that I have a God who tolerates my lackadaisical attitude and loves me wherever I am. Who won't give up on me no matter how ridiculously childish I become, no matter how spoiled I act, no matter how much at times I may grieve Him. I am thankful that He is faithful when I cannot be, because He cannot be untrue to Who He Is.

So today, just for a moment, think of something you might not normally take the time to be thankful for. Something you take for granted. And Bless God that you have it.

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