Esophagogastroduodenoscopy, colonoscopy, and total knee arthroplasty

Just when you thought it was safe to get out of the water, your personal physicians (orthopedicist, gastroenterologist, internist) (and any other ists) (I love making up words) need a new convertible or trip to Tahiti or whatever, so they want to continue their practice on members of your family.  Do they practice all their lives or do they ever get it right?

Anyway, humor is a good antidote for dread, right?  But, here is the real skinny or what Joyce and I are facing this week.  She is on clear liquids today prior to prepping for the colonoscopy and EGD tomorrow afternoon (9-9-14) beginning at 1:00 PM.  Her blood tests lately have shown some sort of iron deficiency anemia and she has had some lower abdominal pain, so the plan is to go in fore and aft and see what's playing on the medical channel............

Since the prep is worse than the actual test (she's asleep), please be praying for minimal discomfort and for godly test results.  We are resting in the arms of our Sovereign God and we are confident that whatever occurs will be for his glory and our greatest good.

As you may have heard, minor surgery is surgery that someone else is having.  My TKA is currently scheduled for 11:30 AM on 9-11-14.  Since my first knee replacement was on 12-7-12 (Pearl Harbor Day), I wanted to keep in step and let the MD blow up my other knee on an appropriate day!  Seriously, I scheduled it for 9-12 and they called and wanted to move it up.  I think the Dr may have gotten a different tee time or something.  Since I have been through this once before, I pretty much know what to expect.  At times, I think that helps and at times, it makes it worse.  I am determined to work harder during the rehab and cry less.

I am of the opinion that the worst part of any surgery similar to this is the aftermath when you deal with the pain meds and how they affect other bodily functions.  The pain may stop but so do the other bodily functions.  Praise God for Milk of Magnesia!!  So, my prayer request from you is for adjustment to pain medications, added vigor to my rehab regimen, and less than 90 days before I tee off again.  Last time, it was 89 days from surgery to the driving range.  I am determined to beat that since it will more than likely be pretty cold in December although when you play golf as badly as I do, weather isn't much of a factor.  Evidence for that are my last two 18-hole scores, 80 and 96.

Most of you know that Joyce's mother passed away on 8-27 and my niece, Carolyn Harris, passed away on 9-2.  Mike, Sheri, Kaylee, Joyce and I attended her memorial service in Borger, TX on 9-6. Also on 8-27, a lady destroyed our mailbox.  See pictures below.  I am due to come home from the hospital on Sunday, 9-14 which is my mother's birthday.  Stressed, you ask?  We are continuing to trust in our Heavenly Father as we are empowered by his Holy Spirit.

We are fervently trying to rejoice in our tribulations which is spoken of so often in the scriptures.  After nearly being stoned to death, Paul related the following:  Acts 14:22 encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."   In the book of Romans, we are told this:  Rom 5:3-5 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;  and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  James gets in on the act as God directs him to pen these verses:  James 1:2-4 2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

Must get this posted on the web so the prayers can commence.  Remember, to God be the glory, great things he has done!

$500 later

The lady that hit it promised to pay for
 the rebuilding.  No check yet!

1

Bonnie Ratliff

Bonnie Ratliff            January 28, 1921 - August 27, 2014

Bonnie Hensley was born Jan. 28, 1921 along with her twin brother, Donald C. Hensley in Brutus County, Kentucky.  It wasn't known that there was going to be two of them, so it was a real struggle for the family.  It is told that they didn’t even put in a garden that year.  Bonnie had one older brother, Gaston. Three other siblings had previously died in early childhood.  Their mother, Ida, and father, Irvin, were both schoolteachers.  Two other children, Beatrice, and Cleo, followed.  When Bonnie was 11, Ida died of cancer.  Being the oldest daughter, the cooking became Bonnie's responsibility.  It was said that the potatoes were burned on one side and raw on the other.  At about age 15 Bonnie went to live with her aunt, Nola, but was only there to work and she was unhappy.  Having assumed the mother role, she worried constantly about how the other children were getting along.

When she was about 18 she went to Cincinnati to live with an older step-sister, Edith, got a job working for a laundry and settled in. She made a decision to believe in Jesus Christ during this time.  There she met the love of her life, Cecil Ratliff.  They were married on Sept. 30, 1942. 

 Cecil was an officer in the Army and assigned to troop ships transporting soldiers to and from war areas in both the European and Pacific theaters.  Their daughter, Joyce, was born in 1944 in Ironton, OH while her dad was abroad.  He came home on leave three weeks after she was born.  A son, Wayne, was born in 1946, also in Ironton.   After the war ended, Cecil was discharged from active duty.  Cecil also believed in Christ during this time.

In 1950, Cecil was recalled to the Army during the Korean war, sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky and then in 1951, to Germany.  Bonnie and the children followed in early 1952, living on Warner Caserne near Munich.  The family traveled at every opportunity and ended up visiting 7 other countries. They returned to the states in early 1954 and settled on a farm at Sinking Spring, Ohio.  Cecil remained in the Army reserves and retired many years later as a major.

In 1962 he was laid off from his job near Waverly, so he and a friend drove across the country until he was hired at a company near Denver.  Bonnie and Cecil lived at Arvada, CO for  18 years then retired to New Mexico, first to Belen and then to La Luz.  Over the years, they traveled to Hawaii, Ireland, Scandinavia, China, and the New England states.  

In 1992, after Cecil died (just four months short of their fiftieth anniversary), Bonnie moved to Las Cruces to be near her sister, Bea.

With her memory beginning to fail, she moved to Edmond, OK in November, 2006 to be near Joyce and her family.  She lived in an independent living facility for 4 ½ years then transferred to an assisted living facility.  After 1 ½ years she fell and broke her hip which caused a loss of mobility and she was then forced to enter a nursing home, Tuscany Village in Oklahoma City.  Her dementia was becoming severe so she never really realized where she was but never acted unhappy.  She reported seeing Cecil often.  Her dementia advanced until she died on August 27, 2014.  She will be missed by her daughter, who was her caretaker, and her son, Wayne and their spouses.

Don, Cleo (Janie), Bea, and Bonnie (May 2012)

 Also surviving are two sisters, Bea and Cleo, her twin brother Don, two grandchildren, one great-grandchild and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Bonnie's ashes will be interred next to Cecil’s in Denver, CO.

The Sting of Death

Currently, I have two family members that are critically ill and probably neither will see 2015.  One has only days or hours to live; the other has less than six months.  Whenever death passes close by, our emotions usually are all over the place.  There are obviously these:  grief and sorrow, sadness, despair, loneliness, sometimes fear, introspection, hopelessness (not for the Christian), sometimes relief, and, perhaps, guilt.  This guilt is usually caused more by what we didn't do than by what we did.


I would like to look at two scriptures today that have been floating in and out of my thoughts for the last few days.  As they relate to death may not be apparent because we always want to paint a rosy picture of death and not talk about anything negative.  Our pastor said a while back that "even the death of a Christian can be quite ugly."  Matt 7:1 says: Do not judge so that you will not be judged.  Matt 7:20 says:  "So then, you will know them by their fruits.  These verses are from the Sermon on the Mount.  At first glance, it appears we can't judge what other people do; on the other hand we observe the results of their actions to determine their (new word) Christianness or fitness to be in heaven with us.  When applying these verses to ourselves, we don't want to be judged when our actions are questionable but we are more than ready to be fruit inspectors for others.


Bottom line is that only God knows the heart.  We can outwardly judge that someone is not a Christian based on their fruit but God will have the final word on this.  However, the 'not knowing' should not stop us from sharing the gospel of Christ with everyone.


 The deaths of celebrities usually brings out the platitudes and praises for the deceased person's  lifestyle, (no matter what it appeared to be publicly)  how good a person they were, how much we were entertained by them, how many lives they touched positively, etc. often with no mention of their spiritual life or relationship to Jesus Christ.  In the end, this is the only thing that really matters for time and eternity.  I will never forget the words of Brooke Shields at the death of Michael Jackson.  Her image of him after he died was that he was in heaven sitting on a crescent moon singing a song.  Again, I don't know if Robin Williams, Lauren Bacall, or Maya Angelou (three luminaries who have died this year) were Christians or not.  I heard nothing in the reporting of their deaths that mentioned their relationship to Jesus Christ but, then, that is not politically-correct news. 


The main thing to be taken from these ramblings is this.  It matters what you do in this life but the most important thing is whose you are and what are you trusting in to assure that heaven is your home for eternity.  I have encountered many people that are basing their future hope on a single event that occurred maybe twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty years ago but whose lives have seldom reflected that they do, indeed, belong to God.  This event may have been walking an aisle, praying a prayer, filling out a card, yes, being baptized, etc. 2 Cor 5:17 states: Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. The true mark of a Christian is not a one-time event but a lifetime of Christlikeness.  We will not become 'Christlike' instantaneously but there will be a movement that will occur gradually in 'fits and starts' as Mike Ross would say.  Our sanctification will be a gradual upward trend as we perform the good works that Christ has ordained for us that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10)


One of the most frightening passages in scripture to me is Matt 7:21-23.  It reads: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'  "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'  To me, these verses confirm that we are not saved by what we do but whose we are.  The book of James is clear on this:  James 2:17-18  Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.  But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."  James is simply saying that a person who is genuinely saved will do good works.  It is not an option.  The absence of good works is confirmation that the faith is not a saving faith.


The judging and fruit inspection are often connected to the good works and, obviously, my list of good works will be different from yours.  However, the Bible is very clear on some of these.  We are to live holy (not perfect) lives and activities that will be included in this holy life are: Regular Bible Study, Regular Prayer Time, Regular Corporate Worship, Regular Fellowship with the Saints, Regular Stewardship of Time and Money, Regular Sharing of Christ with Others, Regular Confession of Sin, Regular Ministry to the Needy, Sick, Prisoners, Widows, Orphans, etc.  I could go on and I have probably left out your favorite but the point is:  Our lifestyle must point others to Christ and we should long for the day that we will see him face to face.


How should we view the sting of death?  For the Christian, the sting has been removed by Christ.  For the non-Christian, the sting is eternal separation from God.  How should we act until the time of our death?  It sounds very trite but we have been saved by God to serve him.  The great Judge has stated in his word the following:  1 Cor 6:9-11  Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.  Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.


Want to avoid the sting of death?  Have you been washed? Have you been sanctified?  If not, turn from your wicked lifestyle, seek Christ, repent of your sins, ask him to make you one of his own.  He will not cast you away.  Act before it is too late.  Let me know if I can help in any way.  Have a blessed day!

Marriage Tips for Men

Marriage Tips for Men based on 47 Years of Personal Experience

The above pictures show my wife, Joyce, 1) when she was about 16, 2) right after we got married (June 18, 1966), and 3) just before she retired in June of 2012.  Do the math.  We just celebrated our 47^th anniversary (not golden but titanium as in TaylorMade golf driver) last month and I would be remiss if I didn’t share a few of the observations that I have decided to be very important in maintaining some semblance of harmony in a long-term relationship such as marriage.  These may or may not work for you guys because it also requires a very special partner with which God has blessed me.

1.       Don’t ever leave the toilet seat up.

2.      Don’t offer the remote to your wife just because Soccer is the current sports season.  She sees your insincerity.

3.      When a cross word is spoken, walk away and do not respond for a minimum of fifteen minutes unless it is an emergency.  You will be amazed how quickly the issue disappears.

4.      When you experience the results of her forgetfulness, wait five minutes.  You will have forgotten the event yourself.

5.      When enumerating all of those things that drive you up the wall, remember you have driven her over a cliff by your actions long ago.

6.      Never complain about her purchases or shopping habits. ‘Nuf said.

7.      She really is a better driver than you.  Not!

8.      Never complain about her snoring.  That means she is still breathing.  Praise God for her snoring and roll over the other way.

9.      Stop being amazed that she orders the same thing you do when you eat out and that she finishes your sentences and you agree on most issues.  You truly have become one over the years.

10.  Pretend that chick-flicks are better than westerns.

11.  If she even hints that you are getting low on milk, drive to Braums before she finishes the sentence.

12.  Study the Bible daily together and pray daily together.  This will increase the level of intimacy between you to heights that you have never experienced.

I could go on and probably will later but remember the four C’s.  Communicate, Cherish, Commitment, and Christ.

The Unsnatchables!!

John 10:27-30  "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;  and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.   "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.  "I and the Father are one."

 Jude 1-2  Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.

Jude 24-25 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

I was raised in the Southern Baptist Church where not only were nearly all sermons evangelical in nature, but, we would have at least two revivals (one-two weeks long) every year with the total emphasis on evangelism.  Looking back, it seems that if the regular church members had gotten revived, there would have been no need for the revivals.  But, I digress.  The motto of the SBC seemed to be "Once saved, always saved" and this was reiterated quite often.  Except for a lapse from about age eighteen to age twenty-five, I pretty much was a regular attender of a Southern Baptist Church until about the age of forty.

At this point in my life, our family left the Southern Baptist environment and began attending an independent Bible Church called Faith Bible Church.  There I encountered a new phrase called "Perseverance of the Saints" and was told that a better way of putting "Once Saved, Always Saved" would be "If Saved, Always Saved".  Over the next several years, many questions were answered from the pages of Holy Scripture that changed my thinking from self-centered to God-centered.  Such phrases as "All that God Requires, He Provides" and "All of Salvation is All of God" brought me from trying to make sure that I was working enough so that I would receive God's approval to realizing that my works would never bring approval towards salvation and that if I was saved, it was because of God and not because of me.  I had been chosen before the foundation of the world and was part of God's elect and (dare I use the term) that predestination was really taught in the Bible.

Over the years, people had used the term "carnal Christian" to describe those who professed Christ as their savior but lived for and like the devil.  Sins were classified and if you had not killed someone or committed adultery, you could pretty much live how you pleased because you had "walked an aisle", "signed a card", "been baptised", etc so you had to be a Christian.  During the years at the Bible Church, I was taught that it really did matter how you lived and your good works were not necessary to save you, but that if you were saved, your good works would confirm your salvation.  In Eph 2:10 we read, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."

Now, back to the "Perseverance of the Saints".  The Westminster Confession of Faith was the product of five years of intense study of Scripture, intense dialogue, intense scholastic effort, and discussion by about a hundred of the best theological minds and biblical scholars many of whom we would call Puritans.  The Puritans were known as lovers of Scripture, lovers of God, lovers of Christ, and lovers of Truth.  The article in the confession related to perseverance (XVII) reads as follows:  "They whom God hath accepted in his Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved."  This document does not have the authority of Scripture but there are many verses throughout the Bible that support this statement.  Here are a few.
 
John 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
John 3:16  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  
 
John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 
 
John 6:37-40  "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.  "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.  "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."
The amazing thing about this last passage is that God the Father has given those who are saved to God the Son as a gift.  To lose your salvation means that the Father would take back the gift from his Son.  It will never happen.  Once you are a part of the family of God, you will forever be a part of the family of God. 
 
John 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."
1 Cor 1:8-9  who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Thess 5:23-24 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.


To say that we persevere is not to say that we are perfect.  Will we sin?  Most assuredly!  Will we doubt?  Some more than others.  The more we sin, the more we will doubt but as our sanctification progresses, we will not become sinless, but we will sin less.  True disciples continue in faith and they don't live like non-believers.  John 8:31  So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.  A person who "has accepted Jesus", "made a decision for Jesus", or "prayed a prayer" and goes on to live in a sinful pattern of life with no fear of hell because they think they're eternally secure is deluded.  1 John 3:10  By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.


The doctrine of perseverance then is this:  at salvation you are given a supernatural faith from God to believe the gospel, to believe the testimony of the Holy Spirit concerning Christ and therefore to believe in Christ and having come to Christ you have come to know the true and living God.  The faith is a supernatural gift from God.  It is a gift of grace and it is a gift of mercy.  Eph 2:8-9  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.  The kind of faith that God gives is an enduring faith.  Human faith does not endure.  Security in Christ then is tied to a persevering faith that endures to the end.

 
Any idea of salvation that leaves out security is a distortion of the truth.  And any idea of security that leaves out perseverance is a distortion of the truth.  Please meditate on this amazing passage from Peter, the leader of the twelve.  Keep in mind the ups and downs of Peter's life as recorded in the gospels - Get thee behind me Satan - Satan desires to sift you - I have prayed that your faith not fail - I will follow you to death - I don't know him - You know I love you - and on and on.  Surely Peter's redemption and restoration was complete in John, chapter 21 - read it when you have time.  Years later, under the Holy Spirit's leading, he penned the following.  How amazing!
 
1 Peter 1:3-9 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
 
From this passage you can see that this matter of security is tied to an enduring faith.  In Christ's high priestly prayer in John, chapter 17 Jesus is interceding for those who belong to him and asking the Father to keep us.  Christ's prayers are always answered by the Father because they are always in accordance with his perfect will - we will be kept.  The Holy Spirit also intercedes for us as we read in Rom 8:26-27  In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
 
Christ's intercession guarantees our future glory.  The Holy Spirit's intercession guarantees our future glory.  And the Father's purpose guarantees our future glory that He foreknew us, He predestined us, He called us, He justified us, and he will glorify us because His purpose at the beginning was to conform us to the image of His Son.  Rom 8:28-30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.


Our human faith can't save us, our human faith can't keep us.  Therefore we need a faith that is not human, a faith that is supernatural that has to come from God.  The faith to believe the gospel in the beginning came from God and it is an enduring faith that always believes.  There are no true Christians who are drop outs.  If one has really come to Christ, there will be an enduring faith that will be characterized by a love for righteousness, a love for Christ, and a hatred for sin.  It will not be perfection but it will indicate direction in the way of righteousness.  Reread 1Peter 1:3-9 above and focus on these words and phrases:  who has caused us to be born again - a living hope - imperishable - undefiled - will not fade away - reserved in heaven - protected by the power of God - salvation ready to be revealed in the last time - outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.


Praise be to our Heavenly Father for granting salvation to us, a salvation that will last forever.  Just remember that if it was up to us and if we could lose our salvation, we would because our human faith can neither save us nor keep us but he can!

True believer - welcome to the Unsnatchables!!!!!!!!!!!!!





 

Update on Knees

Here is a picture of my knees on December 5, 2012.  You can see that I am just a little bow-legged.

For at least five years, more than one doctor has recommended total knee replacement surgery so I finally scheduled it back in September with a surgery date of December 7.  All of the pre-op tests with my regular doctor and my cardiologist went well so I had no excuse but to proceed.  It seemed a little strange as they wheeled me in to the operating room to see a row of power tools on a table to my right.  I was told that I followed the instructions perfectly related to getting myself from the gurney to the operating table.  That conversation was followed by blackness and I awakened in my hospital room approximately two and one-half hours later.  Not much happened the rest of the day although I did get out of bed and walk across the hallway using a walker.  (Walker's walker............)

This was on Friday and I remember eating three meals on Saturday and Sunday and being hooked up about six hours a day to the CPM.  This is a continuous passive motion machine that bends your leg at the knee for the length of time and angle selected.  I was told that my doctor wanted a bend of at least 90 degrees before I could leave the hospital and this was accomplished with very little problem.  Check-out was after breakfast on Monday and I was ambulatory as long as I had my walker.  Physical therapy was scheduled to begin on Tuesday and the three days following for the first week.  It then switched to three days per week for the next five weeks.  My last physical therapy session is scheduled for Thursday and my next doctor visit is scheduled for February 27.

My last regular visit was January 16 at which time I was told that things were going well.  I also no longer had to wear the thick, stretchy, white hose on my right leg.  I think Joyce was more thrilled than me because she had to put it on me each morning.  I also no longer had to take the two aspirin per day for blood thinning, and I could now use the pool and hot-tub at Gold's Gym.  Joyce and I went to water aerobics yesterday for the first time in several months and it felt great!  I have been driving for a little over two weeks so that lightened Joyce's burden a little bit also.  Talk about cabin fever.  When the only place you go is physical therapy, it doesn't take long to start talking to yourself.

AH! Physical therapy (or private torture as I prefer to call it).  The first week was not too bad because of the recent surgery but then they begin to try to whip you back into shape.  My only problem is that I had a preconceived idea about how fast I wanted to be whipped back into shape and just how much none-self-inflicted pain I was willing to tolerate.  We had a few disagreements over this and I finally convinced them that I did not like surprises and when they were fixing to abuse my body, I wanted to be warned ahead of time and not just told to relax.  I am also required to perform physical exercises on my own three times a day (seven days a week) on the non-therapy days and two times a day on the therapy days.  I must confess I have only abided by this about 75% of the time due to laziness, pain, rebellion, or stubbornness.

I have gotten back to Sunday School two of the last three weeks as well as Wednesday night share time at church and Thursday night Bible Study at the Kahne's house.  These three things have greatly lifted my spirits.  There is nothing sweeter than getting together with fellow believers who are bound together by their love for Jesus Christ.

Here is a picture of my knees today and you can tell how much straighter the right one is.  Am I even considering knee replacement for the left knee?  Not a chance in a million.  Perhaps as the memory of the pain wears off and the new knee begins to perform at its expected level, I might rethink it but a lot of time will have to elapse to wipe out those painful memories.

 

 

 

I ran into an old acquaintance from past water aerobics classes at PT today.  She had her second knee replacement two weeks ago and really didn't look to be in very good shape.  My therapist says that I must work out on my own until the knee is back to regular use.  This will include workouts at home and at Gold's Gym.  My numbers have not changed for the last 2-3 weeks so my flexibility and leg extension is about where it is going to be.  The exercising is to make sure that I don't lose ground since both knees have comparable numbers right now.

 

Other than the loss of sleep, appetite, bladder and bowel control, slight anemia for the last couple of weeks, and other maladies that I've already forgotten, it was quite a trip.  God has been there all the time but it has been difficult to get my focus off of me but then that is pretty much how I've lived my whole life....me, me, me.  I didn't even have to take selfish lessons, they came naturally.  My desire going into the surgery was that God would receive glory.  He has because this path was chosen by him to show me that he will see me through everything until my time here is over.  I praise him for what has happened and what will be happening as I continue my recovery.  He is a great God and greatly to be praised.

Knees

I am scheduled for knee replacement surgery at 11:00 AM tomorrow, December 7, at McBride Hospital on the Broadway Extension and Britton Road in OKC.  I was first recommended for replacement surgery in 2007 but chose arthroscopic (Feb '07) on my left knee.  The pain was gone for about five months and later included my right knee.    I had weekly injections of Orthovisc for three straight weeks in both knees in Mar '08 and seemed to help a little (probably psychological more than physical).  Took Celebrex and Aleve periodically when the pain was worse but continued to pretty much play as much golf as I wanted.  Also began water aerobics and training on a recumbent cross-trainer bike several times a week.  Dieted and lost 50 lbs (put about 20 back on) in 2010 and pain was manageable most of the time.  Dr Yates gave me a three-in-one injection of Synvisc in both knees in Oct '10 and helped a little.

Returned for exam in July '12 as pain seemed to be worsening.  Dr Yates said that there was some deforming occurring in right knee and recommended that I not continue to delay replacement surgery.  Called in September to schedule surgery for December because I already was scheduled for an annual checkup with my cardiologist in November.  Also required a checkup and blood work from my regular doctor which was completed the same week.  Came through all pre-op checkups with flying colors and have attended two pre-op meetings at McBride so in approximately 24 hours I should be getting prepped for the surgery.  On Wednesday night our fellowship group laid hands on me and prayed for me at the end of our sharing time.  I have peace  and the knowledge that God's will shall come to pass in the days ahead.  I Cor 15:10a says:  By the grace of God, I am what I am.  This is all that any believer can stand on.  Salvation is all of God.  Pray for me and that God will be glorified in my life.  Here is a gross picture of my knees - thought you needed a good laugh at some bow-legs.

Have you stopped laughing yet?

After the surgery on Friday, I am supposed to be dismissed from the hospital on Monday and begin physical therapy on Tuesday.  I will go every day the first week and then three days a week for the next three weeks and then reevaluate.  Estimates for my next game of golf are three-six months so pray also for my patience and that I don't rush things.  I will work as hard as I can to be obedient to the doctors and therapists and hope that the strengthening of my knees over the years will be of some advantage in the rehab.  If this is TMI, I apologize but I gotta blog when the thoughts come.  If not, my blogger will get clogged and the world will miss out on my blogship..................