Never a dull moment...

I was surprised when I looked at the date of my last post.  Just 9 days before I went to the hospital.  The weeks since September 30 have been full of surprises.  Most everyone reading this probably is up to date on our events, but I will record them here "for posterity" and so I can return to the list when I forget it all!  Hang on, this is a long one.

Spent the first week of October in the hospital with an unidentified kidney ailment.  Still unidentified actually, but more than one doctor thought my symptoms were consistent with a kidney stone even though none was ever spotted.  "Really??" I asked.  "Even with all that blood?"  The specialist at Mayo Clinic said yes, so who am I to argue with experience and knowledge.  I already knew the pain was consistent with a kidney stone.  Apparently women who have had stones and also given birth say the stones are worse.  I agree.  You don't get a great prize at the end either with kidney stones, so you can't say the pain is worth it.

The week after I got out of the hospital, Heidi came to visit.  She went to doctor's appointments and to the hospital for x-rays with me.  Not so much fun for her, but it was wonderful to have her here!  She and Heather got to spend their birthday together, which doesn't happen very often.  We celebrated at Real Food Cafe.  Love that place.

Through a friend of a friend (one of those little "coincidences") we were connected with a urologist and kidney cancer specialist at Mayo Clinic. Off we went, Chuck driving, me lying on a mattress in the back.  It was a pretty sweet way to travel, for me anyway...and nothing hurt.  I had just found out I was severely anemic, so had no energy either.  Spent a couple of days at Mayo, and the good news was that I don't have cancer.  Bad news is they didn't know what caused my problems either, except the possibility of the aforementioned kidney stone.  Things didn't look quite normal on my CT scan, so we will return in January (my favorite time to go to Minnesota!) for another one.  Trusting all will have healed, recovered and returned to normal by that time.

Home for a while, feeling better, gaining strength.  Continuing the process of getting settled...realizing how horrible I felt during August and September when all this was building up in my kidney.  I attributed everything to the stress of moving, huge changes, etc., but apparently not.  Now that I am feeling better, I realize why I couldn't seem to accomplish anything during those summer weeks.  So, life can settle down a little, right?  Well, not yet...

Unfortunately, this has always been Chuck's favorite vehicle and I have totaled it twice...this time irreparably.  The first time a deer hit me which wasn't my fault.   Chuck is such a good sport.  He put up with all my trauma during October and then was extremely gracious about this.  What a guy.   A couple more visits to the chiropractor and I will be pain free and moving well.  I am grateful I wasn't really injured (nor was anyone else) and the shaking up was pretty minimal.  As a result of all this we have decided to let the dust settle and stay put in Michigan for the winter.  Except for that trip to MN in January, and then I will go back in March to help Heidi when their new baby arrives.  That will be fun!  Right now our plan is to put the RV in a campground near Heidi and Kris and stay there for a good part of the summer.

Which brings me to the final thought--gratitude.  How grateful I am to God for his mercies and grace.  There is no end to them.  Yes, we have tough things to get through, but he is always there.  Life is full of hard stuff, that's just the way it is.  But we are not left on our own, and everything God allows to come our way has value and meaning if we thank Him for it, and we do, every minute of every day.

A friend sent this text message today:  "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer (Rom. 12:12)  For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord from my youth."  (Ps. 71:5)