getting well – Jesus is for the Wounded

When the adventure is inherent in the day

Published on June 6, 2019June 6, 2019 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

No fancy definition needed

When the adventure is inherent in the day.

Not exactly a mountain top experience

Or reaching the limits of form and space.

Nor costly in the typical sense of words

For no one wants to spend thousands on health.

Nothing like it in the normal world

But for me it’s no, not, nor, nothing then let’s go anyways.

The effort to live with serious illness

Even when the trials are less to write about

Are no smaller challenge, adventure shall we say

Because you really don’t know the outcome when you head out the door.

There may be pictures (scans), adrenaline rushes (injections) oh my,

Better hold on sissies, cause there ain’t no manual when you decide to try.

And try I have, a thousand times over

To some avail with microscopic progress, not perfection by any means.

Today was no exception as my head swum with radioactive tracer

Driving down the road hungrier, less self-assured, ready to make it anyways.

So what’s in your adventure portal?

The one with an open-ended plan

Make room for the derailments of this life

‘Cause nothin’ better than that Gentle Ones. ‘K Lord, let’s go!

On the Cusp of Many Changes

Published on June 11, 2018June 11, 2018 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

Here’s a post from last week when I almost didn’t know where to put my focus at any given moment. Maybe it’s time for a brain dump, prayer, and some quiet before the mayhem?

Inside

The bout of pneumonia is largely past now with occasional coughing spells and nasal rinses to get me through the occasional flare-ups. Unfortunately this illness has exacerbated the seizure attacks when trying to go to sleep. It is definitely time for an adjustment to my specialized dental appliances however the trip to go see my Craniomandibular Specialist got cancelled due to the pneumonia. Oh well, the fact that it has been raining in Florida virtually every day for the last few weeks including a tropical storm this week makes me glad we were not camping in all that mess. Ever camp and travel in hot, muggy, wet conditions with a large dog? Yeah, it would have been a moldy, muddy mess for sure!

Outside

We are in the process of selling our Livin Lite Camplite 16 DB that has served us well for the past 4 years. We very likely will need to accommodate one or more family members during some upcoming travel so we are pursuing the financing of a more suitable travel trailer. This is a week of finalizing the sale of our “Tin Can Ranch” and the purchase of the new unit, Lord willing, requiring many tasks and 2 long days of travel: one day this past weekend to scope out the new travel trailer and another day soon to go pick it up. Travelling a total of 4 days to my medical appointments in Florida was out of the question yet 2 shorter trips over the period of a week was more doable yet very tiring. No problemmo. My beloved River Bear is a skilled “bus driver” too! The cancellation of medical and other appointments this past week (because we were supposed to be out of town!) has allowed for plenty of time for rest-n-naps! Hopefully the new owner of the 16 DB will be able to solve her delays soon as well.

Things got crazy when late Sunday night in the middle of the Memorial Day weekend we found the perfect travel trailer and price point for our situation! Within 24 hours of the posting of the listing and us finding it, we were on the road and ultimately making an offer. Do you think that the Lord cares about the special thingies of our lives? I submit to you that He does. The morning of Memorial Day that we were scrambling to take a day-long road trip to see the travel trailer, Steve sold a performance surf ski for his River Bear Racing! We delivered it to a gentleman along the shores of Lake Erie then headed south to check out the new Camplite. A week later it was in our driveway! However, the timing of this transition has found us with TWO travel trailers, much paperwork, a couple of trips to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, yada, yada, yada. We are a little nervous but trusting the Lord that things will also be resolved in time for our first camping trip in June . . .

Family

Looks like my family member in Florida will be visiting us for most of the month of July. It’s still a month away yet many travel arrangements and accommodations are needed to both get her here and have her in our home. Steve and I still must practice extreme avoidance procedures (changing clothes and showering when coming home from being away) which is tough on an older family member who needs care. We will make as many preparations as we can before she leaves her home (in a moldy State), have initial provisions for her when she arrives, and hope for the best that her clothing can be sanitized and de-fragranced so she can travel and visit with us in July. She has many fears, concerns, demands, yet is asking to come. That is kind of weird since she has traveled with virtually no care just a few months ago and did alright. So I will be very busy taking care of many details. Thank the Lord I am less reactive to fragrance and trace amounts of mold, etc., and my activity level has increased some overall these past 2 months!

Home

Getting out in the garden continues to be a great therapy for me in many ways. The vegetables are now in the ground including a new asparagus bed . . . until the bunnies find it of course! No worries as I am working on my rascally rabbit defense system as we speak. Overall I am still months ahead of schedule for Spring clean-up as compared to the past 6 years battling a serious illness. I am humbled and grateful. When my days in the past focused on basic household chores and a plethora of medical appointments and treatments. Was really nice yesterday to sell a piece of medical equipment that I no longer need and then drive directly to a local nursery with the cash to purchase a lavender plant! The rains today shall nurture the earth and my garden refuge wonderfully. Thank you Lord for the lovely view out our windows to encourage me on my recovery journey. You are soooooo good!

I am in awe of the overall goodness of these changes happening in our lives. Steve an I are grateful and humbled, tired and excited, stressed and energized all at the same time. So I’ll end with my happy place that provides refuge through it all. (Can you find the pup in the photo?)

Thank you Lord for your blessings and goodness, love and care. Gentle Reader: He is so good! JJ

Front Door 6.18

Navigating the Mine Field of Recovery

Published on July 9, 2017July 9, 2017 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

Those of you in treatment for a serious illness know what this title is all about: trying to figure out what will bring recovery or remission without making you feel worse! Oh yeah. Patients battling chronic illness talk about “herxheimer reactions.” That is where either die-off or some kind of healing crisis brings on worsening of symptoms and even new, noxious symptoms. Not fun. So what is a person to do? Unless otherwise advised by your trusted healthcare practitioner, here are some things that have been helpful for me:

Slow down your treatment protocol or take a break in treatment.

Try only one new thing at a time and at a lower dose if possible.

Take binders such as benonite clay, activated charcoal, chitosan, and binders of heavy metals (e.g. Intestinal Metals Detox).

Drink extra fluids especially pure water.

Add some hot lemon water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

Eat bitter foods which help support liver and kidney drainage channels (such as select herbs, radishes, dandelion root tea).

Do what you can to keep your bowels moving at lease once every day, minimally!

Step up your preferred method of detox such as salt water baths, infrared sauna, colon hydrotherapy, and exercise as tolerated. Even massage, physical therapy, and chiropractic care can help release waste products trapped in your tissues.

Add nutritional supports for detox as you can such as glutathione (or precursor of lactose-free whey powder), vitamin C-rich foods, and minerals (such as magnesium, Dead Sea salt baths, Celtic sea salt, Quinton Quintessentials, and the like).

Make rest a priority! Healing takes a lot of energy!

Pray. The Lord cares, hears, and will lead you unto Himself if we but call upon His name: Jesus Christ. There is no greater comfort than this Gentle Reader.

So this is where I am at these days. Last month I had to take a nasty antibiotic for the same infection and it hurt me badly so I ended it at the short end of the recommended treatment range. Then I stepped up nutritional supports before adding a new treatment. I tried to add a new biofilm-buster when treating a gut infection and reacted poorly, so I will take a break from it for now. This month I was able to tolerate hot lemon water with manuka honey which is a combo I have not tolerated in years! Changing brands of glutathione helped me to start taking this critical element in the 3 phases of detox, yeah God! Also, using a combination of binders has helped slow down some overnight convulsive episodes. I hypothesized that killing infections released toxins inside of the bacteria and fungi targeted, contributing to an increase in episodes. So these days I am really glad for the leading of the Holy Spirit, and a myriad of webinars from really smart researchers who suggested binders. “Yeah God” for the relief that has followed.

Psalm, 7, 37, rest in the Lord, wait, patiently, Him, Lord, peace, Christian, healing

I guess then it is time for a nap. No matter that it is a beautiful day outside. Naps are a beautiful thingy too ya know. Lord willing, I am going to get well!

Take care, JJ

Time to focus

Published on May 4, 2017May 4, 2017 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

Sick and tired of being the same

I digress into another rant . . . or shall I?

Would that honor the Lord who has sustained

Delivered me from near-death and brought me to you?

Oh if there could just be a happy ending already my dear

Would I still angst over my words or lightly dance over the keys?

These are questions that will not be answered this night or even the next

As my beloved returns home to my side from his travels, refreshed from lack o’ drama.

I must find some joy to carry me out of this funk for the path to recovery is becoming clearer

Glimpses of what may be come through the struggles amuck and late night appointments with my Doctor who works too much.

But is it more than I, just wanting to be well? I think not for the rewards for victims are slim: our fellowship better not be tainted by our woes!

Would you and I be friends if it weren’t for our life paths diverted? Probably not so let’s not spend time there, just trust we were meant to be here now.

And I thank you for carrying me when I could not stand, liking my words when their worth eluded me in the dim of night, listening when most were asleep.

It is time to focus on the prize coming into view: this possible final leg of the race that will take all my strength as Mr. Herx clears the debris that soured my inner places.

I might just win. This life season just might end. Stay tuned, Gentle Reader. Please pray and I will do the same. Of course you know me all too well: I’ll be sure to letcha know… JJ

Binoculars, garden, view, focus, Christian, birdbath, flowers, iris, landscape, trees, scene

The Awakening

Published on February 26, 2017February 27, 2017 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

No plant reacts instantly to a brief change in conditions. But a change that persists is an invitation to wake up. (From the Dirt Simple blog.)

Lately I am finding myself in a place in my world that brings me to a humbling yet screeching halt. I ask: what has happened to the me I once knew and where the heck did I land? The Lord knows the journey that has transpired; the witnesses have varying accounts of this or that as well. But it is the markers in time, the events out of the ordinary that bring the changes to light, that clarify what is actually seen. Let’s see if I can explain a bit more about what is going on over here as one of those episodes hit me hard . . .

Three days ago the daily seizure attacks that I have suffered for 5 years ramped up to over SIX HOURS PER DAY. One day these were all in a row, virtually without ceasing until the wee hours of the morning. The next day I got a divided dose of 3 1/2 hours in the morning then an encore of SIX MORE HOURS in the evening! I cannot even describe to you the mental and physical anguish this brings. Time stops. A single breath, one then the next, is the only measure in my mind of the clock of life ticking forward. Difficult decisions got made between my beloved and I resulting in his cancelled trip getting replaced with the sights and sounds of another hospital emergency room. The drug they gave me helped. Miraculously, the convulsive spikes are but a blip here and there for now.

I have had over a day now to contemplate what life might be like to be normal again. Indeed the pain has gone down some, the brain fog got less misty, and my ability to move improved. So I completed a small garden project yesterday and walked our dog this evening. I think that the ER Doctors who have told me that this illness isn’t biological are dead wrong. Stop the seizing and I don’t need a psychiatrist to tell me to get back into life. I don’t need convincing. It just happens!

There is much to figure out right now. Will I get to work on more treatment like taking down viral infections? How long will I stay on the new medication that could hurt me if it was too long? What will I really do with my life should this process of healing continue? I am hopeful again and that is good. Alas it is poetic that these changes should occur as the earth warms from the cold of Winter outside. Unlike the plants that are either remaining dormant out there or are testing their new growth with some surges in our Spring-like weather lately, I will wait to wake up all the way. In the meantime maybe I can do some good with this wee bit o’ energy. After all, there is no rushing a beautiful awakening to a new life.

Five years is a long time to have been asleep.

I bought a new truck like my Dad’s just 5 days before a kayaking trip changed my life forever. I got sick from the water. I don’t know why I told you that. It’s been a long detour. Now things are changing wildly. Maybe the new beginning will need to involve a little road trip in my sweet ride? To the nursery just out of town of course. They sell bags of shredded pine bark compost that should fortify our garden vegetable beds nicely.

See what I mean? It’s already happening . . .