Glass Half Full

Friends and Family,

I trust you all had a great weekend, a blessed Sabbath and a good first day back to work if you are there yet. My day started kinda early again. After retiring early, worn out from watching both my favorite football teams lose yesterday I was awakened about 1:00am with some pretty significant discomfort. A quick check of my catheter bag showed I had not voided anything in over 5 hours and had some spotting on the front of my "tidy-whitey" boxer briefs. 20 minutes later we are on the way to Lake Norman Regional Hospital Emergency Room. Mary Ann was the nurse and in less than 10 minutes she had evaluated the problem and remedied it. A blood clot had formed in the catheter and blocked the flow from my bladder. One good squeeze of what looked like a turkey baster and the dam broke and the flood waters came rushing through....ahhhhhhhhhh.

I asked later if there was anything I might could have done differently to prevent this kinda thing and she said "no". So......I was already scheduled to see the doc at 8:00am with great expectations of having this companion of mine for the past two weeks (my catheter) sent packing. W e l l ......doc said he was 99% sure everything was OK but wanted to be 100% sure before we removed it. I was sent to Presby Huntersville for a procedure called a cystogram. My bladder was filled with a radioactive contrasting fluid as pictures were taken. An almost immediate response from the radiologist said a leak at the base of my bladder was present as the contrast began migrating away from the base of my bladder where the urethra had been reattached. Pictures in hand and head hanging low, back to the doc where he said my little friend will be "hanging around" for at least another week. I'd be lying sure enough if I said I was not real unhappy and disappointed.

Well, I went to the bathroom and had myself a little pity party, cried a little bit and just got pissed off. Got all that out and turned that page! I have SO much to be thankful for, I had a good breakfast this morning, I have heat in my home and a warm dry bed and more friends and family loving me and praying for me than anyone else I know. It is not the way I had planned to spend Thanksgiving with my children and grandchildren but at least I get to spend it with them, all 10 of us will be together. I don't have cancer in my body anymore either, that is an amazing blessing. God is so good to me and now I feel a little bit ashamed for getting so upset. And, God sent a little reminder to me......hardly got home from all the "stuff" this morning and two church friends are knocking on the door. They came to clean our gutters before it starts to rain today. GOD IS SO GOOD !!!

Time to do little things in preparation of the family coming in two days. I suspect it may take me a bit longer than I planned but I'll make it happen. First thing I'm gonna do is finishing filling up my cup that I have had on my chair side table all week. It was half empty this morning.....now it is half full and I am gonna go finishing filling it up!

Thank you ALL for your love and prayers for me and my family....and THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR BLESSINGS ON ME!
Mike