I had my blood count done yesterday, and the count is still nicely in normal range, despite the fact that I am tapering off the prednisone. Still, I am in need of a more permanent solution, since I cannot go into the hospital each time I get a cold, and serving a church means I'm exposed to a virtual Petri dish full of bugs each time I stand at the church door. Parishioners might be put off if their pastor used the Purell Hand Sanitizer between each handshake or hug.
So I'm going ahead and having a surgical consult to see about having my spleen out. They do it laparascopically these days, which makes the recovery much easier. One night in the hospital, about a week to bounce back. I can do that, and it is potentially curative, so sometime in January or February I may be on the Mibi Weight-Loss Plan: lose seven ounces of spleen in a day!
Last night was our last class in Anglican Thought, probably the most difficult class I've taken at Big Old Seminary, since the readings were challenging and the level of discussion in the seminar-style sessions was extraordinarily high. I'm glad I was auditing rather than taking it for credit, since I've got plenty enough writing to do right now, but I am so glad I took this class. Yet another "last" moment.
Two more exams to go. One will be a case discussion in Conflict & Congregational Leadership - I'm taking that one pass-fail, and know the approach and material well, so that will be easy-peasy. The other is a take-home for Medical Ethics, and although it is a hard course with a lot of material covered in one quarter, I'm feeling good about that. I'm also wrapping up the written documentation for the preaching award package.
I'm still debating whether I will use the reworked NT sermon from last year that I am recording on Thursday afternoon (I'm much happier with it now that it has been tightened up), or if I will use the sermon I'm writing on John1:10-14 for Dec. 28th as my New Testament sermon for the big competition. I'll definitely tape the John sermon for another preaching competition, just for fun, but if it turns out really solid, it may be the NT sermon for the big competition, since stylistically it will be rather different. Que sera, sera.
The good news is that I've bought and shipped Christmas presents for the out-of-town family and friends. The bad news is that I still have to figure out what to get for the kids and PH. Ah, well.
So I'm going ahead and having a surgical consult to see about having my spleen out. They do it laparascopically these days, which makes the recovery much easier. One night in the hospital, about a week to bounce back. I can do that, and it is potentially curative, so sometime in January or February I may be on the Mibi Weight-Loss Plan: lose seven ounces of spleen in a day!
Last night was our last class in Anglican Thought, probably the most difficult class I've taken at Big Old Seminary, since the readings were challenging and the level of discussion in the seminar-style sessions was extraordinarily high. I'm glad I was auditing rather than taking it for credit, since I've got plenty enough writing to do right now, but I am so glad I took this class. Yet another "last" moment.
Two more exams to go. One will be a case discussion in Conflict & Congregational Leadership - I'm taking that one pass-fail, and know the approach and material well, so that will be easy-peasy. The other is a take-home for Medical Ethics, and although it is a hard course with a lot of material covered in one quarter, I'm feeling good about that. I'm also wrapping up the written documentation for the preaching award package.
I'm still debating whether I will use the reworked NT sermon from last year that I am recording on Thursday afternoon (I'm much happier with it now that it has been tightened up), or if I will use the sermon I'm writing on John1:10-14 for Dec. 28th as my New Testament sermon for the big competition. I'll definitely tape the John sermon for another preaching competition, just for fun, but if it turns out really solid, it may be the NT sermon for the big competition, since stylistically it will be rather different. Que sera, sera.
The good news is that I've bought and shipped Christmas presents for the out-of-town family and friends. The bad news is that I still have to figure out what to get for the kids and PH. Ah, well.
(BTW, the pretty picture of platelets above is from http://www.mybloodyourblood.org/biology_platelets.htm)
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1 comment:
I told Taciturn, who as you know is a retired doc, about your dilemma and he was really surprised that you still had a spleen. You probably will be glad about getting this done. You've worked too hard to get knocked out by this illness! Prayers for you on this journey. The road sure twists and turns, eh?
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