Thursday, September 21, 2006
It's All About Amy #4 (Amy update: I believe)
(This is the third email, dated June 25th of this year)
Howdy folks, again,
First let me apologize. I must have hit a wrong button, or something. Last night's email was incomplete, and I meant to finish it tonight.
Included below are: last night's email, and the first "Amy Update" with all the links in it. Last night's email referenced several things that had links to them in the first email.
Because last night's email was not complete, I have had several questions that I meant to address in the first email. Before I give you a status report, or anymore of my thoughts, I thought I would answer those.
Kay Booth works in the local Tri-Care office (see link in the original email). Kay was insturmental in getting Amy in for her current treatment. If Kay had not interceded with the head of the local Army clinic, Amy would still have untreated optic neuritis(see link below).
Which brings us to a point that I guess I wasn't to clear on. Amy is in the hospital at the moment to be treated for optic neuritis, not MS. Optic neuritis can be part of MS, but you can have optic neuritis without having MS. This is the major concern at the moment, because if this was normal optical neuritis, it should have gone away on it's on by the end of April.
As it appears now, all of this will not prevent Amy from leaving for the States with me. In the first email, I talked about Madigan Army Medical Center(see link below). It is the Army hospital on the post where I am going. It is one of the biggest and best medical facilities that the Army has. It is comparable to Walter Reed. In other words, Amy will probably be in the care of the best neurologists in Washington state, if not the western seaboard.
The super steroid is supposed to knock out the optic neuritis very quickly. I'm not sure, exactly what time frame, but from what I understand, the end of this next week is a reasonable expectation.
Today's update:
Amy had her second course of cortisone this morning. I have not seen the side effects that she had last time with the lower doses. However, cortisone, apparently, inhibits the body's ability to produce insulin. So, after this morning's medication, Amy's blood sugar skyrocketed. They gave her an insulin shot to compensate for theis.
She was hot (the hospital does not have AC, and it was rather warm here today). I'm not sure if it was "hot flashes", the heat here, or just the fact that she is hot natured. She was a little unsteady. Otherwise, she was fine.
My closest friend here, and one of the few remaining soldiers in my unit that went to Iraq, Chad, came and visited her today. He stayed for a couple of hours. It was a good visit.
(I'm going to wander a bit here, but it is pertinent. I promise.)
Chad married a german a few months ago, Isabelle ... Isa (pronounced ee-sah). Amy did their wedding cake, and we were 2 of only 16 people that were allowed to be present at the actual wedding service. Amy and I have become quite close not just with Isa, but her parents, Anton and Friedl (pronounced freedle) Eigen (eye-ghen). (Forevermore referred to as Herr Eigen (Mister Eigen) and Mama Friedl (figure that one out for yourself).
Herr Eigen and Mama Friedl showed up at the hospital (they do not live in Bamberg, they live in Walsdorf, about 20 minutes away), and stayed for about 2 hours. They had a small bag of gifts. That's right "gifts" ... plural for Amy. It was interesting. The Eigen's speak little english. We don't speak that much german. Especially not enough to really talk about what is going on. Mama Friedl sat on the bed with Amy, stroked her hair, clucked, and chided Amy at turns. It was sweet. One of the gifts was a picture of the Eigen's two daughters with Amy at the wedding. They wrote on the frame: " for our(my emphasis) Amy, be in good health!!, from Mama Friedl and Toni". They told us that the picture was of their three daughters.
Amy seems to be doing well. She is in good hands. Her roommate (TriCare will not pay for private rooms) is a university student in Wuerzburg. Her boyfriend is a university student here in Bamberg. They both speak excellent english. I think we have made even more German friends!
The next time that someone tells you about rude, arrogant, harsh, ... whatever Germans, tell them they are full of organic fertilizer. We live in Franconia. A region within Bavaria. Think of it as the Ozarks of Germany. The people here are the same way.
Amy has one more course of cortisone tomorrow morning, and she should come home tomorrow, sometime.
Keep in mind that this hospital stay is all about the optic neuritis. She has not received any treatments for MS, yet, and, probably, won't until we get to Madigan.
Time to "Fix a Hole" (it's a reference to a Beatles song ... see the top of my blog for the text):
When Amy and I attended a home church in El Paso, Sundays were a marvelous thing. "Church" included lunch, a worship service, a lesson from the Bible, serious prayer time, fellowship (everything from watching movies to throwing darts), and what, generally, turned into about a 30 minute communion service.
We, always, sang some songs, read scripture (either induividually, or out loud together), prayed, and then there was some kind of thought given or shared before we actually had communion. One of my favorites was inspired by Jesus's words at the Passover in the last part of Luke 22: 19:
Luke 22:19
do this in remembrance of me
NIV
So, that is what we did. We went around the circle (there were rarely more than 15 of us), and shared our favorite "memories" of Jesus. Some shared how Jesus had changed their lives, some shared a quote, and others shared stories. It was incredibly uplifting to just sit there with each other and completely focus on Christ, what he has done, and what he has done for us.
I was, generally, quite predictable. I, usually, shared a story and my thoughts on it. This is it:
Luke 8:22-25
22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!"
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."
NIV
Let me set the scene. They are on the shore of what the Bible calls the Sea of Gallilee. A large lake in the Holy Land. It is known for having fierce storms. Four of the apostles (the guys in the boat with Jesus) made their living on this lake as fishermen before joining Jesus: Peter, Andrew, James and John. These guys know this lake. They are professionals when it comes to this lake.
They are out in the water in a boat that was, probably, not 15 yards long, and no more than 5 yards wide at it's widest point. Not a big boat.
One of these bad storms comes up. Howling winds, horizontal rain, the sky is black, the waves are high, and the boat starts filling up with water. In danger of sinking or capsizing. Luke even states that they "were in great danger". No doubt about it, folks, the organic fertilizer has made contact with the ventilation system!
Jesus, in the meanwhile, is crashed out in the back of the boat. This storm is not phasing him, at all. Luke says that "the 'disciples' went and woke him". Who do you suppose that was? Peter, James, and John were closest to him. Peter, Andrew, James and John were the "subject matter experts" on whether they were in trouble or not. You think it might have been them?
Imagine the storm building, and those four telling the others: "Nope, we're fine." ... "It's a good boat, don't worry." ... "We can ride it out" ... "If we can just get ahead of the wind ..." ... "Get the ones that aren't seasick to start bailing water." ... "(Expletive Deleted)!" ...
and then there is this truly unique moment in human history. One of the few times, if not the only time, where a person yelling "Jee-Zus!" at the top of their lungs is not taking the Lord's name in vain.
Jesus wakes up. The disciples start yelling at him, trying to get Jesus up to speed. The storm is so great, he can't hear them. He says, "What?" They yell and scream some more. "What?!?" .... more yelling and screaming ... "Huh?" ...
Jesus puts a 1 finger to tell them to wait a second, turns around, facing off the boat, and yells, "Shutup!" ...
The rain stops, the wind dies, the lake is as tranquil as glass, and the sky is clear, immediately.
He turns back to the apostles and says, "You were saying...?"
They hem and haw for a second and Jesus asks them, "Where is your faith?"
Now that I have set the scene:
I've heard a lot of people teach this story. They go all over the place. From the geography, to the dimensions of a standard fishing boat of the day, to the fact that the apostles should have known that they had the Son of God in the boat and they shouldn't have worried. If you know how to tell it, I think it is one of the most entertaining stories from Jesus' life.
I don't think I have ever heard one that really got it. Other than the way I tell it.
What did Jesus say at the start of the story?
He said: "Let's go over to the other side of the lake."
More importantly, what did Jesus not say? Did he mention anything about how the trip was going to be?
Nope, he just said "Let us go over to the other side of the lake."
That's the point. God says that we, together, are going ... there.
It's like he told Abraham:
Gen 12:1
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
NIV
God didn't give Abram a AAA map and trip itinerary.
He said, "Start walking that way. I will tell you when to turn."
Good thing, too. Because if Abraham had known all that would happen to him, he probably would have ran back into his father's house in Ur of Chaldees, crawled under the bed, and never come out.
But, I know who I believe in. A God that is compassionate enough to say "Let's" go someplace ... and a God powerful enough to be able to insure that I ... or, in this case, Amy and I, get there, no matter what happens between here and there.
I have some concern over some of the details, but I am not scared in where this is going.
We are going to be okay. I know this. If for no other reason, it's not in my hands.
Besides, it's not just me and Amy against those 12 Marines ... like someone once said, "You, me and God make ... 5."
(Grin) or to put it otherwise ... God is my Father ... and my Dad can whip your Dad, optic neuritis (or MS)!
God is good ... all the time.
Thanks for putting up with my ... tangent.
Kev
Howdy folks, again,
First let me apologize. I must have hit a wrong button, or something. Last night's email was incomplete, and I meant to finish it tonight.
Included below are: last night's email, and the first "Amy Update" with all the links in it. Last night's email referenced several things that had links to them in the first email.
Because last night's email was not complete, I have had several questions that I meant to address in the first email. Before I give you a status report, or anymore of my thoughts, I thought I would answer those.
Kay Booth works in the local Tri-Care office (see link in the original email). Kay was insturmental in getting Amy in for her current treatment. If Kay had not interceded with the head of the local Army clinic, Amy would still have untreated optic neuritis(see link below).
Which brings us to a point that I guess I wasn't to clear on. Amy is in the hospital at the moment to be treated for optic neuritis, not MS. Optic neuritis can be part of MS, but you can have optic neuritis without having MS. This is the major concern at the moment, because if this was normal optical neuritis, it should have gone away on it's on by the end of April.
As it appears now, all of this will not prevent Amy from leaving for the States with me. In the first email, I talked about Madigan Army Medical Center(see link below). It is the Army hospital on the post where I am going. It is one of the biggest and best medical facilities that the Army has. It is comparable to Walter Reed. In other words, Amy will probably be in the care of the best neurologists in Washington state, if not the western seaboard.
The super steroid is supposed to knock out the optic neuritis very quickly. I'm not sure, exactly what time frame, but from what I understand, the end of this next week is a reasonable expectation.
Today's update:
Amy had her second course of cortisone this morning. I have not seen the side effects that she had last time with the lower doses. However, cortisone, apparently, inhibits the body's ability to produce insulin. So, after this morning's medication, Amy's blood sugar skyrocketed. They gave her an insulin shot to compensate for theis.
She was hot (the hospital does not have AC, and it was rather warm here today). I'm not sure if it was "hot flashes", the heat here, or just the fact that she is hot natured. She was a little unsteady. Otherwise, she was fine.
My closest friend here, and one of the few remaining soldiers in my unit that went to Iraq, Chad, came and visited her today. He stayed for a couple of hours. It was a good visit.
(I'm going to wander a bit here, but it is pertinent. I promise.)
Chad married a german a few months ago, Isabelle ... Isa (pronounced ee-sah). Amy did their wedding cake, and we were 2 of only 16 people that were allowed to be present at the actual wedding service. Amy and I have become quite close not just with Isa, but her parents, Anton and Friedl (pronounced freedle) Eigen (eye-ghen). (Forevermore referred to as Herr Eigen (Mister Eigen) and Mama Friedl (figure that one out for yourself).
Herr Eigen and Mama Friedl showed up at the hospital (they do not live in Bamberg, they live in Walsdorf, about 20 minutes away), and stayed for about 2 hours. They had a small bag of gifts. That's right "gifts" ... plural for Amy. It was interesting. The Eigen's speak little english. We don't speak that much german. Especially not enough to really talk about what is going on. Mama Friedl sat on the bed with Amy, stroked her hair, clucked, and chided Amy at turns. It was sweet. One of the gifts was a picture of the Eigen's two daughters with Amy at the wedding. They wrote on the frame: " for our(my emphasis) Amy, be in good health!!, from Mama Friedl and Toni". They told us that the picture was of their three daughters.
Amy seems to be doing well. She is in good hands. Her roommate (TriCare will not pay for private rooms) is a university student in Wuerzburg. Her boyfriend is a university student here in Bamberg. They both speak excellent english. I think we have made even more German friends!
The next time that someone tells you about rude, arrogant, harsh, ... whatever Germans, tell them they are full of organic fertilizer. We live in Franconia. A region within Bavaria. Think of it as the Ozarks of Germany. The people here are the same way.
Amy has one more course of cortisone tomorrow morning, and she should come home tomorrow, sometime.
Keep in mind that this hospital stay is all about the optic neuritis. She has not received any treatments for MS, yet, and, probably, won't until we get to Madigan.
Time to "Fix a Hole" (it's a reference to a Beatles song ... see the top of my blog for the text):
When Amy and I attended a home church in El Paso, Sundays were a marvelous thing. "Church" included lunch, a worship service, a lesson from the Bible, serious prayer time, fellowship (everything from watching movies to throwing darts), and what, generally, turned into about a 30 minute communion service.
We, always, sang some songs, read scripture (either induividually, or out loud together), prayed, and then there was some kind of thought given or shared before we actually had communion. One of my favorites was inspired by Jesus's words at the Passover in the last part of Luke 22: 19:
Luke 22:19
do this in remembrance of me
NIV
So, that is what we did. We went around the circle (there were rarely more than 15 of us), and shared our favorite "memories" of Jesus. Some shared how Jesus had changed their lives, some shared a quote, and others shared stories. It was incredibly uplifting to just sit there with each other and completely focus on Christ, what he has done, and what he has done for us.
I was, generally, quite predictable. I, usually, shared a story and my thoughts on it. This is it:
Luke 8:22-25
22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!"
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."
NIV
Let me set the scene. They are on the shore of what the Bible calls the Sea of Gallilee. A large lake in the Holy Land. It is known for having fierce storms. Four of the apostles (the guys in the boat with Jesus) made their living on this lake as fishermen before joining Jesus: Peter, Andrew, James and John. These guys know this lake. They are professionals when it comes to this lake.
They are out in the water in a boat that was, probably, not 15 yards long, and no more than 5 yards wide at it's widest point. Not a big boat.
One of these bad storms comes up. Howling winds, horizontal rain, the sky is black, the waves are high, and the boat starts filling up with water. In danger of sinking or capsizing. Luke even states that they "were in great danger". No doubt about it, folks, the organic fertilizer has made contact with the ventilation system!
Jesus, in the meanwhile, is crashed out in the back of the boat. This storm is not phasing him, at all. Luke says that "the 'disciples' went and woke him". Who do you suppose that was? Peter, James, and John were closest to him. Peter, Andrew, James and John were the "subject matter experts" on whether they were in trouble or not. You think it might have been them?
Imagine the storm building, and those four telling the others: "Nope, we're fine." ... "It's a good boat, don't worry." ... "We can ride it out" ... "If we can just get ahead of the wind ..." ... "Get the ones that aren't seasick to start bailing water." ... "(Expletive Deleted)!" ...
and then there is this truly unique moment in human history. One of the few times, if not the only time, where a person yelling "Jee-Zus!" at the top of their lungs is not taking the Lord's name in vain.
Jesus wakes up. The disciples start yelling at him, trying to get Jesus up to speed. The storm is so great, he can't hear them. He says, "What?" They yell and scream some more. "What?!?" .... more yelling and screaming ... "Huh?" ...
Jesus puts a 1 finger to tell them to wait a second, turns around, facing off the boat, and yells, "Shutup!" ...
The rain stops, the wind dies, the lake is as tranquil as glass, and the sky is clear, immediately.
He turns back to the apostles and says, "You were saying...?"
They hem and haw for a second and Jesus asks them, "Where is your faith?"
Now that I have set the scene:
I've heard a lot of people teach this story. They go all over the place. From the geography, to the dimensions of a standard fishing boat of the day, to the fact that the apostles should have known that they had the Son of God in the boat and they shouldn't have worried. If you know how to tell it, I think it is one of the most entertaining stories from Jesus' life.
I don't think I have ever heard one that really got it. Other than the way I tell it.
What did Jesus say at the start of the story?
He said: "Let's go over to the other side of the lake."
More importantly, what did Jesus not say? Did he mention anything about how the trip was going to be?
Nope, he just said "Let us go over to the other side of the lake."
That's the point. God says that we, together, are going ... there.
It's like he told Abraham:
Gen 12:1
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
NIV
God didn't give Abram a AAA map and trip itinerary.
He said, "Start walking that way. I will tell you when to turn."
Good thing, too. Because if Abraham had known all that would happen to him, he probably would have ran back into his father's house in Ur of Chaldees, crawled under the bed, and never come out.
But, I know who I believe in. A God that is compassionate enough to say "Let's" go someplace ... and a God powerful enough to be able to insure that I ... or, in this case, Amy and I, get there, no matter what happens between here and there.
I have some concern over some of the details, but I am not scared in where this is going.
We are going to be okay. I know this. If for no other reason, it's not in my hands.
Besides, it's not just me and Amy against those 12 Marines ... like someone once said, "You, me and God make ... 5."
(Grin) or to put it otherwise ... God is my Father ... and my Dad can whip your Dad, optic neuritis (or MS)!
God is good ... all the time.
Thanks for putting up with my ... tangent.
Kev
