I praise you because I am wonderfully and fearfully made
Ps 139: 14
It may sound strange but illness is increasing my appreciation of the psalmists words. The human body is a marvel of homeostasis with a myriad of regulatory feedback mechanisms ensuring that everything works in harmony; any imbalance is corrected and stabilised.
The cocktail of cytotoxic drugs used to blast my Lymphoma has been the equivalent of a tsunami hitting Littlehampton beach and the physicians have had to step in to try and dampen down the shock waves. They are doing brilliantly but having to take manual control reveals just how beautifully tuned the normal systems is.
This morning I mentioned to Liz that this is day 23. So how many days will it be in total? she asked. 112 Minimum was my reply. Sounds a long way off but it is nearly a quarter (you can tell I am a glass-half full person)! I am learning to plan for, or negotiate, some of the side effects but there are regular 'surprises'. One of my teeth has come loose (must have been that Smokin Joe haymaker) and I have had to start some antibiotics. Also the vein in which the first two slugs of chemotherapy were delivered has become inflamed. Fortunately I have plenty of other good vessels so we can avoid using that one again.
The cards, good wishes and prayers continue to come in and Liz and I are so grateful for all of them. Being able to use social media like this blog has been such a boon as I have found it impossible to respond to all the messages individually. People have said some things to me which have helped me to see how much I am loved and appreciated and this has been both humbling and uplifting.
Most of the time we dont tell people how much we value them until the chips are down. One of the lessons God is teaching me through this is to make sure I tell people what difference they make to my life and what I especially appreciate about them in ordinary time. How about doing that for someone in the next couple of days? It could create a very different kind of tidal wave in our communities.