Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Life's Lessons

Obviously, I did not learn from the lessons my life had given me in the past. I was sick the first week of 2018. All the bad effects of acid reflux tormented me. Too much caffeine. Back in July of 2014 I already wrote a blog on the painful results of having too much coffee and soda. I should have learned that. But no - the second half of 2017, I was drinking coffee 3 times a day and coke at least once.

This year began miserably for me. So I decided to immediately stop my caffeine intake. But that resulted in withdrawal symptoms - anxiety, cold sweat, uneasiness, etc. To alleviate that I had to have a caffeinated drink - just enough to remove all that excruciating feelings. I also decided to consult our doctor who recommended I go through some clinical tests.

The echo cardiogram went smoothly. However, the abdominal ultrasound was a bit problematic. It appeared that the technician was having trouble analyzing the results. So I was asked to return to the clinic. It was the chief radiologist himself who did the ultrasound. He, too, was puzzled. There seemed to be a  non-solid "mass" in my abdomen. He told me not to worry about it inasmuch as it was asymptomatic anyway. When I told him I was diagnosed with bladder diverticulitis back in 2013 he said it still shows in the ultrasound and that it probably was the cause of the "mass".

I once again consulted my regular doctor and showed her the results of my clinical tests. After reviewing them, she recommended a CTscan to determine whether the "mass" in my abdomen would cause me some problems or not. She also mentioned the possibility of a surgery (should the "mass" be detrimental to my health) and to fix my enlarged prostate, and remove the tiny stones in my gall bladder. Most of which are due to old age, she said.

That got me a bit worried. However, as we were ending our session, she said something that gave me hope and peace of mind. She said in so many words, "I noticed that you are sad but know that you don't own your body. God does. He is in control of your life. Your body is like God's house - it is up to Him if He wants to renovate it, clean it or fix it. He will take care of you." Those words really pierced my soul because at the start of the year, I have already resolved to put my complete faith and trust in God. To be the kind of person that he wants me to be. My life is indeed in His hands.